


Resolve

by QuiteALotOfSodaPop



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Ableist Language, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Autistic Frisk, Chara Redemption, Cute Kids, Dad Asgore Dreemurr, Dad Sans, Fluff and Angst, Mom Toriel, Multi, Mute Frisk, PTA Sans, Past Child Abuse, Post-Pacifist Route, SAVED Asriel Dreemurr, The fallen humans, fight me Linda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 05:59:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 61,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6741460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuiteALotOfSodaPop/pseuds/QuiteALotOfSodaPop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The barrier has been broken and monsters are free to join humans in the land above. However whilst taking care of some unfinished business, Toriel discovers that humans souls have an unusual talent for coming back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Patience

To say that monsters instantly left the Underground for the world above would be a lie.

Ever since Frisk broke the barrier, the whole Underground from Hotland to the Ruins was in a flurry to leave. Unfortunately much like packing away for a vacation, it was taking an unnecessarily long time.

People from New Home were the first to go, mostly due to Asgore all but evacuating the palace staff so to begin negotiations with the human leaders. The king was fairly successful when speaking to the human politicians but with how the media swarmed and harassed him for the first few weeks he had to call up the remnants of the royal guard to scare them off.

They were closely followed by the inhabitants of the MTT Resort, and as human-mad as Mettaton was, he stayed behind a while longer so to gather himself and repair the relationship he had with his dear Blook cousins. Burgerpants was dismayed to learn that in the Aboveground his job was considered "normal" for somebody his age.

The rest of Hotland emptied out quickly, although it would take Dr Alphys many runs to and from her lab to move all of her equipment and anime memorabilia.

Waterfall trickled upwards, mostly because it took a while for the news to get around. Onion-San almost burst into tears when a human sea-life company helped relocate her to the coast by the town of Mount Ebott. Gerson grumbled a bit but was finally convinced to leave due to the sheer amount of archaeological texts that humans lacked.

The Temmies were holding on, apparently they were waiting for everyone else to leave so they could surprise humanity at the last second. Napstablook was hurriedly trying to relocate his snail farm, he was surprised to learn that snail farming (albeit the caviar instead of the animals) was actually a profitable industry aboveground. Monster Kid and his family were among the first to actually leave.

Snowdin was rather uneasy. The monsters there were so used to the cold dense forest that they were concerned of how well they would adapt to the Aboveground. Many of the rabbit and ursine families quickly bought and moved into a collection of small suburbs close to the mountain.

Grillby was quick to buy an empty store in Mount Ebott Town and was busy putting his finances together to open a new bar and get a small house for him and his daughter. The Riverperson was delighted to learn that the area had multiple rivers they could use to continue their trade.

Even Sans and Papyrus were delayed in moving, mostly because a combination of laziness and debates over what furniture to bring.

The dogs found homes the moment the humans laid eyes on them.

The Ruins however, were abandoned in an instant. Save for two souls.

***

Toriel hummed happily to herself, clutching a stack of textbooks.

The peace talks had gone well.

Asgore had explained their situation (after Papyrus had burst into the town centre to proclaim eternal friendship between humans and monsters) and very quickly he and Toriel were whisked away to a white palace many miles from Mount Ebott. The American leaders (of which there were quite a lot of) were quick to call them "costumed freaks" but when Asgore and his entourage demonstrated magic in front of congress, they had to bite their tongues.

When it became clear through Frisk (with Sans as their interpretor) that monsters were non-violent, the Aboveground governments were at a loss of what to do. For some reason they had expected monsters to come through guns a-blazing.

Many monsters were notably peeved that humanity didn't seem to recall or even know of the War. Human history could tell you exactly how a man lived an died ten thousand years ago, but anything regarding a war between monsters and humans was locked into various myths and legends. It was soon discovered by Gerson and other human archaeologists that the few survivors of the War had deliberately destroyed almost all accounts pre-dating and recording the War, likely in the attempts to hide the existence of monsters from the world.

And it had worked.

At least until a small child fell down a hole.

Now back in the Ruins, Toriel was packing away every book and cranny she owned. Mount Ebott Town was small, but the people there were amazed by her capacity and passion to teach others and had offered her a place in the local elementary school. She couldn't hide her joy even if she wanted.

It was going to be a long road from here but the new life that awaited was worth it.

A soft crying noise broke her from her daydreaming.

It sounded familiar.

It started with a slight wheeze and carried upwards into a trembling sob, like it's owner was in pain or confused.

"Oh no." She gasped, abandoning her packing to investigate the noise. "It can't be..."

She listened in closely and again the sound reverberated through the Ruins, reaching her ears. There was no mistaking, it was the cry of a wounded child.

"I thought it was over. But I guess children will still fall down here. I must tell Asgore about this." She muttered to herself, following the noise.

It became louder as she reached the courtyard outside of her Home, the sound was heartbreaking to her. The poor child, lost, alone and likely wouldn't have been found if she'd finished packing a day earlier. When she reached the hallway, her fears were confirmed when she saw the figure of a short, skinny female child with long black hair, covered in cuts and bruises. Her face was buried into the skirt of her sky blue dress.

"Oh no. My child, are you wounded? Do you need any help?" She drew an inch closer, not wanting to frighten the poor thing. The child peeked up from their sitting position and continued sobbing, like they had been separated from their parents. "I am Toriel, the guardian of these Ruins. I hope you aren't hurt-"

The girl slammed into her, wrapping her arms around her waist and cried even louder.

The Queen's heart broke. Placing a hand on the girl's back she soothed. "There there, it's fine now, I'll help you get out and get you back to your family. What is your name little one?"

The child gasped in between sobs and cried out. "It's Jade!"

"Jade? That's a lovely name! I haven't heard that name since... the first child that came to me..."

Toriel's train of thought came to a halt. " _The first child?"_ She thought. Impossible, that poor child had passed on shortly after arriving in the Underground, the first victim of the cruel new law. Her SOUL had been a light blue and was taken away by a misstep in the Snowdin Forest and her body collected and given a royal burial shortly afterwards. Being the first time it had happened, Toriel had fallen into despair. Feeling as though she had lost one of her own flesh and blood, endlessly mourning her until the next child arrived bruised and crying at her doorstep. Allowing the process to be repeated.

" _And yet..."_

She took another look at the child's face. Her skin was an earthy brown, her eyes were the colour of her name, and she had the frightened look of a newborn foal. Her SOUL was beating a distinct cyan colour. The only thing missing was...

"Jade..."

The child looked upwards at the sound of her name, seeing the kind motherly face of the Underground's Queen. The goat-like monster was still holding her close and was trying her best to hold back tears. Toriel knelt down and patted the side of the girl's head.

"Jade... Sweetie what happened to your beautiful ribbon?"

The girl lit up at the question and said through strained cords. "I lost it when I was trying to leave the Ruins, Mother." Toriel's heart skipped a beat. This couldn't be her. It just couldn't. "I got lost when I was outside, then I fell..."

Oh gods above. It was her.

"Sweetie... do you remember anything else?" The woman was all but sobbing herself, one of her children had come back to her!

"It was dark. There wasn't any sound. And then some others were there. Then..." She croaked out the words and began trembling as she continued. "Then it hurt! It hurt a lot Mother! It hurt so much! Then... it stopped. Then it started again. Again and again and again!" She covered her eyes with her long sleeves, all but yelling out her last sentence. "I thought it would never stop! Then... it did... for real this time. And now I'm here and-"

The girl was cut off by a hug to end all hugs. Toriel was letting her tears run freely now, holding as tight as she could to the child.

"I know baby, I know. But you're okay now. We can go aboveground now. You don't have to hurt anymore" She soothed, her hold becoming softer.

They stayed like that for a solid minute before the human child named Jade spoke again.

"They're still here Mother."

"Who my child?"

"The others. They want to come home too."

Toriel's mind collapsed. Shaking, she steadied herself upright. "All... of them? All of you are back?"

"Yes Mother. All of us."

"Jade, please go into the house and wait for a few minutes, I need to do something." The child nodded and reluctantly walked up the steps into the Home. Once out of sight the woman pulled out her phone and dialed the most reliable person she knew.

"hey Tori, what's happening? need help moving a couch?" The joking drawl of a certain skeleton wafted through the speaker.

"No Sans, it is something very _very_ important."

"a fridge then."

"Sans, I'm afraid I am in no mood for jokes at this very moment."

"...it must be serious." He said grimly, his voice deepening. "anything happen?"

"Have you or your brother left Snowdin yet?"

"uhh no. me and Paps are still putting away my sock collection. why?"

"Sans..." She hesitated, lowering her voice to a worried whisper. "The human souls didn't disappear."

"whoa, that's... weird. what happened to them then?" He replied, sounding very confused.

" **They came back**."

She could hear the phone being dropped on the other side.

***

"jesus Tori. i thought you were pulling my leg bone." Sans exclaimed, watching as the goat monster braided a new ribbon into a young girl's hair. The child had calmed down considerably and was surprisingly placid when a skeleton entered the Home.

"She came back Sans. All of them have come back. After the barrier was destroyed the six souls must have broken free and reformed themselves." The woman sounded so overjoyed and worried at same time, a million thoughts running through her head.

"jesus..." Sans could only marvel as the light-blue soul of the girl continued to beat at a steady pace. He figured that this timeline had gone on longer than usual but he'd never thought it would lead to this. "so the others are still out there?"

"That's why I'm worried. Many of them got so far away from the Ruins that I don't even know where they could be." She looked down sadly, focusing on brushing Jade's loose hairs. "I need you to gather the others and help me find them. Imagine how scared they must be!"

"Tori." He sighed and said. "i'm not even sure where to look, we might be better off getting the guards to help us."

"Please Sans." Toriel pleaded, looking straight through him with sad eyes. "The guards have known nothing but to harm and kill these poor children. I need somebody who won't scare them to death."

"i well..." the skeleton was feeling very unsure of himself, he knew how to survive timeline after timeline, he knew how to avoid Flowey at all costs, he knew how to dodge Chara whenever they took over a timeline. But saving a bunch of wayward kids? A little out of his area of expertise.

"Mr Skeleton please help."

His eyes flickered to the figure on the floor. She was looking up at him with even sadder eyes and was close to crying any second. She got up from her place on the floor, undoing her braid in the process, and whispered desperately into the man's non-existent ear.

"Please, or it's going to repeat again."

Sans gasped and forced himself not to cover his mouth in shock. This kid knew about the timelines? He supposed he couldn't argue, human souls were weird and these poor kids have had theirs pulled like silly putty through each of the timelines. Dear gods how much do they remember?

"i'll do it." He says decisively, his attitude doing a complete 180 degree turn. "i'll call Papyrus and get the gang together. you keep an eye on this one." Sans waved frantically as he ran out the door, phone already out and ringing.

"Goodness." Toriel looked surprised at the sudden change in demeanour. "What did you say to him?"

Jade shrugged innocently. "I told him a _punny_ joke."

Toriel giggled shamelessly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow first time posting here and first Undertale story. I always wondered what would've happened if the Fallen children came back and suddenly Sans, Toriel and Asgore got like six additional kids running around in the post-pacifist. Hope this is a decent starting chapter because there's more where that comes from!


	2. Bravery

“Ugh!” Undyne groaned from the couch, trying to flip through the channels as they all waited for Sans to get back, only to realise that the TV had been unplugged for quite a while. She could have been at the beach for crying out loud! “When is he getting here?!”

“FEAR NOT! MY BROTHER MAY BE LAZY BUT I ASSURE YOU HE'S DOING HIS BEST!” Papyrus said aloud, sitting on one of the many cardboard boxes stacked in the sitting room.

“But they're hours away! How is he supposed to get here without a plane ticket?”

The door clicked open, revealing Sans, Asgore and Frisk standing in the doorway. The older skeleton apologised as he entered the room. “hey everyone, sorry it took so long. 'Gore just got out of a meeting so we had to take a shortcut.”

“Sans, we were just in Washington. How did we get to Snowdin so fast?” The king of monsters asked, looking confusedly into the nearly-bare home. He was wearing an ill-fitted plum-coloured suit that seemed to be mimicking his old robes. Frisk stood by his side in an even more ill-fitted suit.

“And I was in Miami in the middle of a mud bath. By now I've stopped asking questions.” Mettaton whined from his place in the corner, leaning against the wall with a muddy towel wrapped around his Ex form's waist.

“A-any way!” Alphys stammered nervously, sitting next to Undyne. “Why did you call us all here Sans? If you needed a f-favour you could've just asked.”

“oh. **i** don't need a favour. she does.” He gestured to the stairs where two figures were making their descent.

The room gasped.

“Hello everyone.” Toriel greeted everyone, a small human holding her hand. “I'm glad Sans was able to get you all here safely.”

“HELLO YOUR MAJESTY! HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?” Papyrus waved from his box before looking frantically between Frisk and the other human child. “AND WHY ARE THERE TWO FRISKS?”

“That's not me Paps.” Frisk signed, clearly tired from their time in Washington. “That's a girl.”

“WOWIE! A NOT-FRISK!” He got up, giving the girl the widest smile possible whilst shaking her hand. “I HOPE WE BECOME GREAT FRIENDS NOT-FRISK!”

“Papyrus, please. It has been a long day for her.” Toriel asked. The skeleton nodded and backed away happily to his seat. The queen then turned to speak to the rest of the room. “Everyone. Meet Jade. She will be staying with me for the foreseeable future.”

“Oh! That's fine!” Undyne replied, looking relieved. “You adopted another kid! I thought it was something really serious.”

“Do I have to share my room?” Frisk signed, more concerned about their bed than their new step-sibling. “Cause I'm not down for that right now.”

“Frisk! Don't be rude.” Toriel chided, laughing as she tousled the smaller child's hair.

“Tori....” Asgore suddenly spoke up, looking worse for wear. “She looks... very familiar.”

Toriel's eyes stared straight through him. “As she should. For you see. She didn't come from any orphanage. She fell down in the Ruins.”

The fish-woman commented first. “Whoa! Even with the barrier broken kids still fall down here? Some things never change!”

“Isn't that k-kinda illegal?” Alphys asked, eyes flickering across the room. “I mean h-her parents could be l-looking for her.”

“I'm getting to that.” The goat monsters explained, diverting her attention to the one across the room. “Asgore. What was the colour of the first soul you harvested?”

The king shuffled uncomfortably. “It was a very long time ago Tori... but I think it had been the light blue one I believe?” He looked down at his feet, shame visible on his face.

“Check her. What colour is her soul?”

“It's... light blue? Tori... what are you trying to say?” His voice hitched as he looked at the small girl.

Jade stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the king.

The king gasped, the realisation hitting him like a ton of bricks. The coffins back in the castle. They had been empty after the barrier was broken. He had assumed that the SOULS had escaped and passed on as human souls often do. But her eyes... the colour of her soul...

His arms wrapped around her, almost completely covering her small form. “My child... I'm so sorry. I am so very sorry.” His eyes were misty as he held onto the child, all but whimpering out apology after apology.

“I forgive you Mr Dreemurr. You were trying your best.”

Asgore drew in a sharp breath and let the tears fall freely.

For in that moment he felt as though all of his sins were forgiven.

“HEY!” The knightly woman broke the silence. The whole room turned to stare at her. “Sorry for breaking up this beautiful moment, but I have no idea what's going on!”

Jade broke from the hug and explained with a clear voice. “I, along with the other lost souls, have resurrected following the destruction of the barrier. I was among the first to awaken and was able to find my way back to the Ruins, but... “ She paused, looking very fearful. “The others are still out there. I wasn't able to find them when I came to and I fear that they are wandering the Underground alone and confused.”

Toriel stepped in as the girl's eyes began to water. “That is why I've called you all here today. All of my children are out there I need you all to help me find them.”

“WHAT?” Frisk signed wildly, the rest of their words undecipherable as they came out in a blur.

“But t-that's impossible! No amount of Determination could allow a human to come back fully. T-then again, we know so little about human s-souls.” The scientist mumbled to herself, looking at Jade critically. “Plus it might be dangerous...”

“So we just gotta round up some human brats?” Undyne mused before exclaiming. “I'll do it!”

“O-oh! So will I!” Alphys said, changing her attitude upon hearing her partner's answer.

“Oh what the hell. I was missing the ol' Underground anyway.” Mettaton agreed after a moment of thought. “Plus the presses go mad for this sort of story.”

“WONDERFUL! NOW... WHERE DO WE START?” Papyrus asked, turning back towards Toriel. “THERE WERE SIX SOULS YES? THEN THAT LEAVES AT LEAST FIVE UNACCOUNTED FOR.”

The queen seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before answering. “Well with Jade here that leaves... three boys and two girls left. All with different soul types. The youngest being five years old and the eldest around eleven I believe?”

“thats a good start.” Sans commented, looking around the room. “hmm. looks like we might have to spilt up though. five kids, six people might be-”

“Hey. Where's Frisk?” Undyne asked, pointing towards the spot where the kid once stood.

“huh?” The skeleton looked around confusedly before sighing loudly. “alright. make that six kids, six people then. don't worry, i think i know where they ran off to. good luck guys.” With that he walked out the door, all but disappearing into the cold night.

“TYPICAL.” Papyrus broke the silence, looking a bit peeved. “FRISK CAN'T RESIST THE CHANCE TO EXPLORE. AND MY BROTHER CAN'T RESIST THE CHANCE TO NAP.” He huffed a bit before declaring loudly. “I SHALL DO MY PATROL AROUND SNOWDIN FOREST. I SUSPECT AT LEAST ONE OF THE CHILDREN MIGHT BE THERE.”

“Me and Alphys will both go down to Waterfall. Monster kids used to get lost in the caverns all the time.” The fish-woman said, holding her partner's hand. Alphys nodded in reply.

“Then Hotland is my territory. No doubt the little beauties will be attracted to my resort. Gives them a little sense of home.” Mettaton boasted, posing dramatically to a camera that wasn't there.

“Tori...”

The room went silent once more.

Asgore still stood at the other side of the room, Jade still holding on to his suit jacket.

“Would it be all right that I join them as well? I feel ungodly terrible for what I have done. It would only be fair that I help these children instead of hurting them even further." The king's face was a stiff frown, red salty streaks marring his eyes.

The queen seemed reluctant, considering past events. She sighed heavily. “Fine. You may join the search party.”

“Thank you Tori. I'll-”

“HOWEVER.” She cut him off, giving him a stern glare, the same used for whenever she spoke to an unruly child. “You must understand Asgore. These children may not be as forgiving as Jade is. At least one may attempt to Fight you. Promise me that you will Spare them. They have been through so much.”

The king nodded determinedly, straightening his back. “On my honour. No harm shall ever again befall the human children.”

“Then it's settled then.” Toriel gave an elated smile, clapping her hands together. “Me and Jade will stay here until everyone else returns. When you find the children, please come back to Snowdin so we can regroup.”

“YEAH!” the room echoed with cheers, emptying out within seconds as the posse left for their hunt. Leaving Jade and her adoptive mother alone in the house.

It was silent for another minute before the young girl asked. “Mother? Why did you say five children?”

“Because there were five others with you. Was there not?” The goat-monster wondered, suddenly a mite concerned. “Was there others with you?”

“Not really.” Jade replied, looking more puzzled. Deciding to drop the subject. After all, she could mention the others when the posse got back.

***

Snowdin Forest was quiet.

No, scratch that. It was completely silent.

No. It was absolutely and utterly desolate.

Papyrus trudged through the snow. Taking a familiar route around the whole area. The regular residents of the forest had long since evacuated to the pine and ash groves that blanketed the outside of Mount Ebott, leaving their home forest empty.

 _“Now if i were a small, impressionable human child. Where would I go to?”_ He though to himself, slowly making his way to the long bridge when an idea popped into his head. “OF COURSE! PUZZLES!”

He galloped over to the series of puzzles he had originally set for Frisk when they'd first passed through. But was ultimately disappointed when he found no signs of life around any of them. Not even mice were present.

As he dejectedly walked back through the forest, he let out a sad sigh. “HOW TERRIBLE THAT TODAY'S YOUTH WOULD SQUANDER THEIR YEARS BY NOT SOLVING PUZZLES! WHY WHEN I WAS THEIR AGE I WAS- NOT VERY GOOD AT READING OR FINE MOTOR CONTROL. BUT HEY EVERYONE GOES AT THEIR OWN PACE.”

A snowball hit the back of his head, shaking him out of his thoughts.

“HMM? WHO THREW THAT?” He wondered out loud, taking notice of how the nearby bushes rustled as he spoke. With a sly grin he made his way over to the patch of undergrowth, pretending to talk to the air. “IF YOU ARE A HUMAN, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU SHOWED YOURSELF. AFTER ALL, I'M JUST A WEE SKELETON- AHA!”

Pulling back the branches, his smile fell when he saw a bundle of white fluff sitting in the middle of the bush, chewing on a discarded bone. The skeleton paled when he realised that it was part of his ruined special attack.

“YOU MANGY MUTT!” He yelled at the dog, startling it out of it's hiding spot. Spewing insults at the animal as it playfully circled his feet. “YOU CHOLERIC CANINE! YOU BOISTEROUS BEAST! YOU-”

Another snowball smacked him in the face. His anger forgotten, he wiped the slush from his eyes and was shocked to see small figure right in front of him.

“Ha! I got you twice!” The creature laughed loudly, the annoying dog abandoning it's bone to run over to it. The creature continued to giggle and screech as it and the troublesome animal played like a pair of young puppies. Tossing half-hearted snowballs behind it.

Papyrus stood there slack-jawed for a solid minute before pulling out his phone.

“Hello, this is Toriel speaking.” a soft voice came from the speaker.

“HELLO, YOUR MAJESTY.”

“Oh! Hello Papyrus! You haven't found something already have you?”

The skeleton was silent for a moment before answering. “MAYBE?”

The kind voice continued, unaware of the sounds of play in the background. “Anything will help us at this stage dear. Now what have you found?”

“IT'S SMALL. HAS BLACK HAIR. AND IS NOW CURRENTLY DRAWING A DOG IN THE SNOW RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.”

“Oh!” The voice's tone raised. “Papyrus! You've found one of them! Wait... Is it a little boy in nightclothes?”

Papyrus gave the supposed child a nice long look before confirming. “YES. HIS SHIRT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT A MOUSTACHIOED MAN NAMED MARIO.”

“I know exactly who you're talking about!” Toriel's excitement was palatable, he could even hear her hand shake as she let out a happy sound. “His name is Tan. I believe he is about seven years old? He was the happiest bundle of energy I ever laid my eyes on...” He voice drifted off, now sounding a bit sad.

Papyrus knocked out of her funk. “WELL THEN! I BELIEVE I'VE FOUND HIM. NOW ALL I HAVE TO DO IS-”

He looked down and was dismayed to see that the human and the dog were no longer to be seen, a small trail of footprints leading farther into the woods. The skeleton's words died in his throat, instead coming out as a painful wheeze.

“Papyrus dear. Are you all right?” Toriel asked worriedly. “Is the child okay?”

“OH! OF COURSE YOUR MAJESTY!” He lied through his teeth, fast walking through the path, trying to catch up with the child. “JUST PLAYING A LITTLE GAME OF TAG.”

“Make sure not to stay out too long! It is so dreadfully cold tonight. I hope to see you soon dear.”

“GOODBYE YOUR MAJESTY!” He quickly hung up, now sprinting down the trail.

He could hear the laughs and barks ahead of him. Every so often he'd catch a glimpse of the child before turning a corner or getting a face-full of snow yet again. Even as Papyrus called out his name, the tiny human seemed far more interested in playing instead of conversation.

“You can't catch me!” The child now known as Tan yelled over his shoulder. His pyjama bottoms dirtied with mud and snow, and his face sullied with small scratches and leaves.

Papyrus was having trouble keeping up. Toriel wasn't lying when she said that the boy was a bundle of energy. “NOW TINY HUMAN IF WE COULD SETTLE THIS LIKE RATIONAL SENTIENT BEINGS, MAYBE WE COULD-”

“Nope!”

Another snowball hit him square in the chest, slowing his pace and making him lose sight of his target. The skeleton made a shuddering sound as the snow melted into his clothes.

“ARE YOU NOT AFRAID OF HEIGHTS, OR DOGS, OR CATCHING A COLD?”

“Nope!” The answer was more distant this time, the snowball landing a foot away from it's intended target.

“YOU ARE A VERY BRAVE YOUNG MAN! THE ROYAL GUARD WOULD BE GLAD TO HAVE YOU!” Papyrus yelled in an impressed tone, thinking of the best compliment he could.

After ten minutes and no sign of the kid, the skeleton was ready to give up when he noticed the child's footprints were beginning to get closer and closer together. With one last burst of energy, Papyrus sprinted forwards and finally caught up with his mark.

“AHA TINY HUMAN! YOU HAVE FINALLY BEEN CAPTURED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS! IF YOU SURRENDER NOW YOU WILL... TINY HUMAN?”

Lying there face first in the snow, did Tan lie. The annoying dog let out a string of scared high-pitched yips, circling the fallen human and pulling at his clothes with it's teeth. He wasn't moving.

“Oh no... NONONONONONONONONO!” Papyrus all but swooped in, scooping the child into his bony arms. Pressing an ungloved hand to the boy's face he could feel that the skin was burning up. “PLEASE DON'T DIE TINY HUMAN! TORIEL WILL BE SO UPSET!”

There was no response. The child's breathing was quick and strained, sounding more like a squeal.

“OH NO. OH DEAR. UM... I'LL TAKE YOU HOME! I'VE GOT MEDICINE, AND BLANKETS, AND MAYBE SOME 5-STAR SPAGHETTI IF YOU CAN STOMACH IT.”

Any energy lost in the game was instantly returned to the skeleton, who began all but galloping from field to field, gliding from ledge to ledge, crossing clearings in one big stride. All as a small, helpless child was held protectively in his arms.

And a small annoying dog followed after him.

***

“YOUR MAJESTY, A BLANKET PLEASE!”

Toriel's heart jumped into her throat as the younger of the two skeletons burst through the door, an orange-soul child lying limply in his arms.

“Oh dear lord!” She gasped, feeling the human's forehead. “He's burning up! Jade sweetheart, please fill the tub with lukewarm water. If it's too hot he'll get even sicker.”

The girl nodded and ran to the bathroom, accidentally knocking over loose junk as she struggled to find it, eventually finding it connected to the kitchen.

The goat-monster took the boy into her arms and was shocked to find that his pyjamas were completely soaked to the bone and the tips of his toes were turning a strange blue tinge.

“How did this happen Papyrus?” She demanded, glaring at the taller monster.

Papyrus's tiredness finally caught up with him and he began to pant and wheeze. “WE... WEREN'T PLAYING TAG. HE RAN AWAY FROM ME AS I FINISHED OUR PHONE CALL. I JUST FOUND HIM LYING DOWN LIKE THIS.”

“Your poor dear.” She whispered to the boy in her arms, painful memories flashing before her eyes.

“Mother! The bath is ready.” Jade called from the bathroom.

The two adults made their way into the bathroom, the little boy still slack in the queen's arms. He put up little resistance as he was striped of his pyjamas and placed into the room-temperature water. It was now mostly a task of warming him up until there was no more threat of hypothermia.

Toriel used a small yellow sponge to wipe him down, the boy sleepily lying against her arm. “He didn't show any signs of being fatigued or anything?”

Papyrus shook his head, rubbing his thumb over the child's wet forehead. “HE DIDN'T LET ON FOR ONE MINUTE THAT HE WAS TIRED. SUCH A BRAVE YOUNG MAN!”

“I know he is.” She wrung the wet sponge over Tan's head, gaining a groan of protest as his hair was soaked. “He was also a terror to watch. He didn't even ask to leave the Ruins. I turned around one day and then he was gone. I think he was excited to meet everyone beyond the door...”

She grew quiet, now deciding that his temperature had risen adequately and lifted him out of the bath. Papyrus wrapped an oversized towel over his body as Jade did the same to his head.

“A few days later I had heard that he had... passed on. The details were vague but... he apparently went missing from the town few day prior and they had found him...” Her voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes.

“I'LL RETRIEVE ONE OF MY OLD NIGHTCLOTHES FOR HIM.” The younger monster stated, realising that the queen was close to crying. He swiftly went up the stairs into his room. After a small amount of time and a lot of crashing around, he returned. In his hands was a pair of slightly greyed pyjama pants with a star pattern and a much too large t-shirt with the words _Tune Squad_ plastered in front of a space themed background.

Tan, who was now vaguely awake, seemed to recognise the symbol on the front of the shirt and held up his arms so the skeleton could slip it on him. After one last rub down with the towel, he was fully dressed and absolutely tired.

Without needing instructions, Papyrus scooped up the child and brought him upstairs to his bedroom. Upon seeing the racecar bed, Tan let out a small “Vroom vroom!” as the skeleton tucked him in.

With a small tousle of the hair, Tan was out like a light. The tall skeleton made sure that the pillow was secure before turning down the lights, looking back one last time to make sure that the child was still there. Closing the door, he let out a contented sigh.

Toriel stared blankly at him.

“HM? WHAT SEEMS TO BE TROUBLING YOU MY QUEEN?”

The goat-monster shook herself from her thoughts and replied. “You never struck me as a fatherly type before Papyrus.”

The skeleton looked suddenly embarrassed and scratched the back of his neck. “I WAS SIMPLY EMULATING WHAT SANS USED TO DO FOR ME WHEN I WAS BUT A BABY BONES. I FIGURED IT WOULD WORK ON THE TINY HUMAN.”

“And that it did wonderfully.” Toriel praised, leading the younger monster down the stairs. “Come, Jade wishes to hear about your tales as a guard.”

Papyrus didn't need to be told twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this one. Two down ? to go! I also added a little bit of Popyrus into this. I'm not sure if I should have all of the kids be raised by the main OT3 or let the others had one or two.


	3. Integrity and Perseverance

“No way!” Undyne shouted disbelievingly into the phone. “We've been combing the caverns for a solid hour and you found one in less than ten minutes?”

“INDEED I HAVE!” Papyrus's voice was loud enough that Alphys could hear him a few feet away from where she was sieving through some overgrown bulrushes. “A YOUNG BOY WITH AN ORANGE SOUL. THAT LEAVES US WITH FOUR TO FIND.”

Alphys continued to examine her surroundings as Undyne and Papyrus continued chatting over the phone. Waterfall wasn't as empty as Hotland, mainly because so many of the residents were dependent on the fresh water and because the Temmies were still at large. Despite this, anyone they encountered didn't seem to have any information regarding lost kids.

The scientist sighed deeply, feeling like giving up even as her brain and sense of moral integrity told her to push on. “T-this is harder than I thought... “

“...ALSO THE QUEEN HAS TOLD ME THAT SHE THINKS THAT THE CHILDREN ARE APPEARING WITHIN THE AREAS THAT THEY PERISHED IN SO WE HAVE A ROUGH IDEA WHERE THEY MAY BE.”

Alphys perked up upon hearing this, coming closer to her partner so she didn't have to strain her ears to listen in.

“IT SEEMS THAT THE TWO THAT PERISHED IN WATERFALL WERE A BLUE SOUL GIRL AND A PURPLE SOUL BOY. NERISSA AND MOMOKO AS THE QUEEN SAYS THEIR NAMES ARE.”

“Nerissa?” Undyne asked, vaguely remembering the name as being a common girls name in her family. “Nice title. Any other details you can spare?”

“HMM... “ The other side went silent for a moment before Papyrus returned a minute later, sounding a bit winded. “ALRIGHT, SHE HELPED ME WITH THE DETAILS. THE GIRL LIKES SOME SORT OF FIGHTING STYLE CALLED “BALLET” AND THE BOY WEARS GLASSES AND LIKES READING.”

“That's all?” The knight asked disappointedly.

“AFRAID SO. SEEMS AS THOUGH THEY DIDN'T STICK AROUND AS LONG AS THE FIRST TWO.”

Undyne sighed a bit before closings off the call with a confident laugh. “Ha! What am I so worried about? I've found people before with even less info! Don't worry Paps, me and Alphys will weed out those two before you know it!”

“MARVELOUS! I SHALL SEE YOU TWO... WAIT HOW DID YOU GET IN THE HOUSE?!” Papyrus replied happily before realising that he had an uninvited guest. Over the phone, the two female monsters could make out the distinctive sounds of a dog barking followed by childish laughter.

The call was terminated shortly after.

“Well a-any information could help us n-now I guess.” The lizard monster shrugged, trying not to explain in detail what “ballet” actually was. “M-maybe we should break down where kids like to go?”

The other monster stood deep in thought before blurting. “The dump?”

“I'm not sure human children enjoy the d-dump as much as monsters do, but it's a good place to start. Hmmm... I know the Temmies enjoy p-playing with humans, maybe they have an idea of where they are?”

“That's a great idea! I sure those little fuzz butts haven't left the Underground yet.”

The two female monsters beamed at one another in expressions that could only be seen as loving. So loving in fact, that they almost missed a passer-by.

“Ohhhhh... Hey guys... Are you two having a last day picnic before moving aboveground? Lots of people are doing it since that monster immigration bill was passed...”

“Oh!” Alphys responded, her cheeks flushed pink. “Napstablook! H-how nice to s-see you again. But wait, aren't you supposed to be up on the s-surface preparing for that music tour?”

“We're on a hiatus right now...” The ghost explained, looking slightly more forlorn than usual. “Mettaton wanted to try out some “human beautification” treatments and Shyren is flexing her fins to see which instruments she likes... She's very good at percussion...”

An awkward silence hung in the air for a few seconds before the fish woman stated loudly. “Well! Me and Alphys have some business to take care off while we're down here. So see ya later 'Blook!”

The two women waved politely in goodbye, intending on starting their search at the old dump. Then the ghost provided one last nugget of information.

“Hey... Mettaton called earlier and said that you guys were looking for a bunch of kids right? I think I saw them... or not... I'm not sure...”

Undyne whipped around and closed the distance between them, an excited look on her face. “Really?! Where did'ya see them?”

Napstablook was taken aback by this outburst and stammered a bit. “At my family's snail farm... It was like... two kids I think? One of them was wearing a blue leotard and the other had a coat like Alphys has... I was moving some stuff you see and-”

The former guardswoman had already ran off at that point, her excited hollering growing distant as she leaped over the set of streams leading to Blook Farm. “YEAH! Beat that Papyrus! Two in one go!”

“Oh...” The ghost stopped his own sentence and sighed, turning towards the embarrassed scientist. “I should have probably said that the girl kicks... She tried to Fight me when I got close but I just left... Thought it wasn't worth the trouble...”

“Thanks for telling us Blooky, we would've been w-wandering the caves for hours if not for you.” Alphys thanked, glad to see a rare smile on the ghost's face

“Thanks... And I hope those kids are alright too... Good luck.”

With that he disappeared, deciding to go elsewhere until his farm was clear of any human infestations.

Alphys smiled to herself before realising that her partner was more than a couple of feet away from her now. “Ahh! Undyne w-wait for me!” She ran as fast as her short legs could carry her, almost tripping a few times as she tried to keep pace with the other woman.

After a few moments and an unsuccessful jump over a small gap, the wet and slightly out-of-breath scientist finally had Undyne in sight. She was kneeling behind a cluster of rocks like an animal ready to pounce on unsuspecting prey.

“U-Undyne! You really shouldn't-”

“Shh.”

“Ex-excuse me?” Alphys asked flatly, now very confused.

“Humans. Right down there.” The knight signed, using Frisk's typical hand gestures. She then pointed down the rocky corridor, to where the Blook Family Snail Farm sat, now more bare than usual due to Napstablook trying to relocate things.

Straining her ears, Alphys was able to make out the faint chatter of two voice, both were very young and both seemed to be bickering over something.

“C'mon this is soooo boring!” A bored voice made their feelings known, followed by the sound of someone pacing around the same spot. “We don't have time to look at these stupid snails.”

“It is not stupid. Snails are cool.” The second voice replied slowly, sounding fairly monotone yet not sarcastic, as if the speaker had difficulty talking. “This one has a moustache.”

“There's noting interesting about snails!” The first voice all but yelled, the pitch of their voice growing higher. “They're slimy and gross and leave a mess everywhere and-”

“Are you taking about snails or yourself?”

“AHHH!” The first voice shrieked, apparently tackling the second to the ground as the sounds of a struggle came shortly after.

Undyne took this as her cue to come into view, wearing her off duty clothing and with her weapons neatly hidden in her inventory. Using her best “I'm friendly” voice she said. “Hey kids come on, that's no way to be acting.”

Two pairs of eyes stared at her in shock.

There in a small heap by the snail pens were two small children, both about to engage in a Fight with one another. The taller of the two children, a girl, had almost onyx-coloured skin with a mane of curly hair to match and eyes the colour of the deep sea. The second was very short and very pale with his head apparently shaven at the sides and back. He squinted towards the corridor, his glasses long since missing from his face.

Both looked at the former guardswoman in fear, not daring to move an inch. Undyne rubbed the back of her neck nervously, trying to think of anything to say. She didn't have to think long as the girl immediately yelled out.

“GO! RUN!”

In a second of chaos the two split apart and ran in different directions. The girl pushed the boy so that he went left past the Blook houses, while she ran straight towards Undyne, all but ramming into her.

“Hey! Wait!” Undyne tried to grab the girl, but was deliberately shoved into the wall by her. Now with the rough stone harshly scrapping her back, she had to restrain herself from unsheathing her weapon. “Alphys! Watch out!”

“Wh-what?” The other monster asked from the end of the corridor. Her question was answered when a second later, she collided with the same female child who stared at her with hate-filled eyes.

The boy emerged a second later from the other corridor, looking very frazzled and panicked. Not thinking straight, he barrelled past the two and disappeared into the dark mushroom-lit caverns.

“You dumbbell! You were supposed to keep going left!” The girl yelled at him, receiving silence in return. Now looking angrier than ever she instead swerved to the left, barely missing Alphys's feeble grasp.

Undyne ran to her partner's side, seething as her back stung from the impact with the wall. “Look kid, we don't want to hurt you.”

“What? Too afraid to fight me?” The girl goaded them, running leftwards.

“Crap!” The fish woman cursed, trying to think of any strategy that didn't involve using her spears. Turning to her partner she said. “Alphys! I'll go after her! You just try and keep on the boy's trail! I'll make sure to call you if I make any progress.”

Alphys shivered before swallowing the lump in her throat. “Okay. I'll call you too. St-stay safe, Undyne.”

“You too Alphys!”

The pair split apart. Undyne rushed leftwards, her body unencumbered by any armor. Alphys went to the right, trying her best not to lose the child she was tasked with finding.

Her phone pinged but she decided to look at the message later.

***

“Huff... This was a bad idea.” Alphys wheezed, trying her best to keep on the boy's trail. Despite his short-sightedness, the boy was able to navigate the first cavern with no issue but seemed to have stopped after a while. “Maybe Undyne got her k-kid by now and I should j-just meet back up with her.”

She pondered this for a moment before deciding. “No! I s-shouldn't throw in the towel like that. That's not me! Well it u-usually is but, I'm trying to b-better myself.”

A strange noise came from up ahead. It sounded like a mixture between a whine and a cough. Following the noise, Alphys came across a room filled with light reflecting crystals, only now it was completely pitch black, the lanterns meant to brighten the room hadn't been touched in a while.

The noise continued to come from a small ways ahead. Deciding on a gut feeling, Alphys triggered the lantern and quickly scanned the visible area. Her eyes fell upon the barely visible figure of the small boy, hunched over and apparently getting very sick.

“Oh dear!” She let out, quickly approaching the boy as he continued to heave out the contents of his stomach. “Are you alright?”

The boy responded by crying pitifully, tears and snot trailing down his face. It would've been gross to her if not for the fact that it wasn't the most pressing issue.

“D-did you eat s-something bad?” She continued to ask, patting the child's back to comfort him. “O-or, are you j-just really stressed out?”

He nodded. Apparently it was the latter.

“Th-that's okay, I get really st-stressed out too. I w-was actually thinking about g-giving up and getting Undyne to help but I knew I could ha-handle it.” She began ushering him out of the dark room and slowed down as they reached the corridor where Gerson once sold his goods, the boy had stopped throwing up now and was wearing a look of shame.

Alphys recognised his expression instantly and gave him a pack of tissues from her coat pocket. “It's alright, you c-couldn't help it. Sometimes the s-stress gets to much for me too. Its never r-really that bad to admit you had a bad d-day.”

“Hmm.” The boy seemed to agree although it was through puffy red eyes and a tissue “Want to just go home.”

“Y-yeah. That would be best. Though I not r-really sure what home would be f-for you Momoko but... Toriel wants to see you.”

“Goat woman?” Momoko asked, holding two fingers to his head to imitate horns.

“Yeah, she wants to g-get all of you together so we can all g-go aboveground together.” She explained, chuckling a bit at the child's blunt description of the queen. “So, um... Do you want to come with?”

The boy seemed to be in deep thought about it before asking. “Will Gojira-sensei be there?”

The scientist was taken aback by this. “Gojira-sensei?” She knew that he was using Japanese to describe something and she was trying her best to decipher it. “Godzilla... teacher?”

Momoko nodded and gestured to her. “Gojira-sensei. Big lizard but also doctor.”

Alphys beamed at this. “Oh! That's an unusual n-nickname, but I like it! My name is Dr Alphys, but you can call me Gojira-sensei if you want.”

Momoko nodded and finished wiping his face clean. “Go to goat woman now?”

“Sure! Just let me tell Undyne and... oh my... I have a lot of messages from Papyrus.” She said as she took out her phone. Maybe a text would suffice.

Turning back to the small child she asked. “So... what's your favourite cartoon?”

His face lit up like a thousand suns.

***

“Seriously kid! I don't want to hurt you!” Undyne pleaded as she ran past the room of luminescent blue water. The female child was amazingly nimble, jumping straight over the disproportionately small gap separating the areas.

“NO! That's what all the others said!” The girl shouted, her bare feet bruising as they pounded against the hard stony floor. “They said that all they wanted to do was talk to me. But then they try to kill me! You think I'm gonna trust you after going through that?”

They passed a room with a plate of crystallised cheese, the mouse long since deciding to abandon it for the world of cheese above.

“It's not like that! The barrier's broken, we don't need to hurt humans anymore!” Undyne yelled back, growing more and more exasperated with the child with each passing moment. “I'm trying to bring you back to Toriel so you can all leave with her!”

The girl made a noise similar to a scoff. “That dame planned to keep me trapped in a dingy old house and never see the light of day! I had to run away from her. Ten minutes after meeting and she's acting like she's my damn mother. She's NOT my mother. I already **have** a mother, and a father to boot! So frankly, she can mind her own beeswax!”

They made it to the bridge, the water sausages poked up from their depths as if they were spectators to the event.

Memories of her initial encounter with Frisk flashed across the knight's eyes. She shuddered as she realised that if she had been anymore accurate with her spears, she would've gravely injured one of her best friends. Putting bad thoughts aside, she heard the sheer rage and fear in the girl's voice, venom spat with each word.

“Be-besides! I can just meet up with mom and dad and... and...” She she trailed off, a sudden realisation coming to her. “They won't be there anymore though. Will they? It's really been a long time since I went missing...”

The zigzagging pattern of the bridge proved difficult to the both of them as the girl was unable to shake off her pursuer and Undyne was never the right distance to catch her mark. Even when they came to the end of the bridge, the short tunnels proved to be more claustrophobic than usual.

“You know what? I'll be fine! I'll get me and the others aboveground and then we'll... and then we'll...” Her pace slowed, but the desire to get away was still there. “And then I'll...”

They came across the final stretch of corridors, a few waterfalls more and they'd be in Snowdin. Undyne was wondering if this could work to her advantage until everything happened at once.

Through a mixture of fatigue and the slippery ground, the girl's feet gave out from beneath her, a sickening snap telling both parties that one of them had broken upon landing on the wrong angle. The child let out a terrified screech as her small trip led to her plummeting off the edge of the waterfall and into the fast falling water below.

The knight couldn't speak. She couldn't think. Heck, she couldn't breathe even if she'd wanted to. Thoughts of letting this poor child die after being brought back from death itself flashed before her eyes. As did the agonised wails Toriel and the other children would make upon discovering that one of their number had perished after all they'd been through.

So it made perfect sense that she'd jump straight down after her, spear ready.

The girl seemed to be unaware of the random drops, but was thrashing and screaming as the water enveloped her. In the struggle, Undyne was able to hook her arm around the child's waist, digging the spear into the rocky wall by the water's edge.

With great effort she lifted the child onto her shoulders and began using any spear she could conjure to scale up the sides of the cliff. In one last heave, she all but tossed the girl onto shore, letting out a relived sigh as the kid instinctively vomited out the water that had filled her lungs moments prior.

“Jesus, kid. You gave me a freaking heart attack there! I honestly thought I was going to lose you-”

“GET BACK!” She screamed, catching the knight off guard.

“What?”

“Get away from me! You aren't different from any of them!” She was now crying, arms clasped around her shoulders in a self-hug, completely ignoring her broken right ankle.

Undyne paled as she was finally close enough to get a good look at the child. She was impossibly thin, her face gaunt and her feet were covered with the marks of old scars and breaks. She saw the sheer terror in the girls eyes and the dust on her clothes and reminded herself _“This is a child. A scared child who had no one there to help her.”_

“Please kid... We've all learnt from our mistakes. We should have never had to hunt you guys down, but we were so desperate for a way out. You were too. Even I've had to learn from my mistakes. If it weren't for Frisk, I would've never had changed my views about humans and we wouldn't be able to go aboveground.” Her voice was softer than she than she thought it could be, feeling a crushing sense of both pity and shame. ”But now we've all been given a second chance at things. For us monsters, it's a second chance to rejoin humanity. And for you kids, a second chance to you know, live. Which you almost blew by the way.”

The girl looked away from her, trying her best to put on a brave face.

“Nerissa, please.” The girl's eyes widened at the use of her name. “Even if you want nothing to do with her, Toriel wants to see you again. At least give her some closure that you're alive and okay. Well maybe just alive considering you might need to see a doctor.”

Nerissa continued to look away, tears still pooling down her cheeks. Undyne came closer, now able to crouch down by the girl's side and continue.

“And if you got nobody waiting upstairs for you, (which I doubt for a kid as awesome as you) me, Alphys and Toriel and all them will all be happy to take care of you.”

Nerissa's face strained to not show any emotion.

“So, do you want to go home now?”

Nerissa finally let out a sob, homesickness and loneliness finally all culminated in one big cry. As she cried her little heart out, Undyne wrapped her arms around her and let the girl sob into her shoulder.

“Heh. I'm guessing that's a yes then?” Undyne grinned as she felt the kid nod against her shoulder. “Great! I just got to call and tell them... what the heck?”

She trailed off as she took her phone out of her inventory and saw that she had multiple unread texts from Papyrus and a single one from Alphys. Deciding to read Alphys's first, she grinned even wider.

“I have Momoko. He's very nice. He likes Osomatsu-Kun.” Attached was a photo of Alphys with the small boy, who was looking amazedly into the phone camera.

“Nice! I told Papyrus we'd find both of you! Now just got to see what he was texting about...”

_“DOG IS IN HOUSE. REPEAT. DOG IS IN HOUSE.”_

A photo of a small white dog was in the next one, curled up asleep on Papyrus's bed against a small human figure.

_“OH BOTHER. HE WISHES TO KEEP IT.”_

The second photo was of the orange-soul boy holding the dog up to the skeleton, his eyes wide with want.

_“NO! I PROBABLY SHOULDN'T LET HIM HAVE THE DOG. ESPECIALLY NOT THAT MEDDLESOME MUTT!”_

_“OH NO! HE'S UPSET. WHAT DO I DO????”_

The third photo was of Papyrus himself sitting on the couch as the small white dog playfully chewed on his elbow. Jade and Tan could be seen petting him off screen.

_“LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A DOG NOW.”_

The forth and last image was of the dog asleep on Papyrus's lap.

_“HIS NAME IS TOBY.”_

Undyne clicked off the messages and went into her contacts list, clicking on Alphys's number first. She had quite a lot to tell her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Finally got that done! I wanted to flesh out the kid's similarities to the main guys a bit so I gave Nerissa and Momoko very contrasting personalities. Hope to see you soon!


	4. Kindness and Justice

“To say that our search has been fruitless would be an understatement.” Asgore said, pressing the buttons to the elevator, the red light telling him that they were going up to R3. “The Hotlands have been almost barren since the Emigration Act, and I doubt a human child would enjoy such intense heat.”

Mettaton huffed and stepped out of the elevator with a flourish. “Well, I didn't get sidetracked by rummaging through Alphys's things!”

“Her lab is air conditioned, it was a very likely candidate. At least I hadn't been distracted by a mirror from one of your old television sets.” He replied back, trying not to be visibly annoyed.

The robot and the king had been searching through Hotland for over two hours and had still not come up with anything. Even when they split up to cover more ground, they couldn't even find a trace of the lost children. Hotland was truly and utterly abandoned.

“I'll have you know that my sets are meant to replicate delicate humane locations! it is only natural that I assumed a child would be drawn to them.” The robot snapped back, growing more irritated the longer they had to search. “The last place to look is my Resort and I swear to you that we'll find at least ONE child there and- Oh Alphys is calling!”

He cut his rant short and pushed a button on his control panel. He answered in a cheery voice, dropping his anger entirely. “Alphys, darling~! How is the search going on your end?”

“W-we um... as of now, have located f-four of the fallen humans.” Her wavy voice drifted out of the speaker on the robot's chest.

“FOUR?” Mettaton replied, unsure if he should be delighted or annoyed. “Me and Gorey have turned Hotland upside down and we still haven't found a thing!”

“M-maybe the kids are somewhere cool? L-like one of the caverns or even part of the CORE? I'd imagine the heat in Hotland would be extremely uncomfortable to them.”

Asgore gave Mettaton a smug look but didn't say anything. Mettaton gave him a look that dared him to say “I told you so.”

“Who are you talking too Auntie?” a soft feminine voice could be heard close to the phone.

“Hello, Jade. How have you been since we've been gone?” Asgore asked into the speaker, hearing a gasp on the other side.

“Mr Dreemurr why do I hear your voice in there? Are you trapped?” She asked fearfully, causing the boss monster to chuckle warmly.

“No dear I'm just speaking to you through the cellphone. I'm perfectly fine.” He assured her, hearing her distress gradually lessen.

“Oh! S-sorry, Jade was likely born before the use of telecommunication. She's not well acquainted with them.” Alphys explained, the sound of a running dog's feet prominent in the background.

Mettaton could feel his metallic heart melt a bit at the sound of the girl's voice. “Tell the little darling that we're simply speaking from another part of the Underground, you can explain the science-y bits from there.”

He continued to talk as he and Asgore came to the crossroad that would lead to the MTT Resort. “Are any of the other darlings there to say hello? I want to hear from them before I get to searching my hotel.”

Alphys's seemed a bit reluctant. “W-well two of the children, the ones me and Undyne found, are currently low on HP so they're being healed at the moment by Papyrus and the Queen but... Oh? Wait, Tan wants to talk.”

“Tan?”

“He's the one Papyrus found in Snowdin.” She explained, passing the phone to someone else. Mettaton could hear uneven breaths on the other side.

“Hello, dear~ I am Mettaton, a friend of-”

“Are you really a robot?!” the overexcited voice asked, his joy almost palatable.

Taken aback slightly, Mettaton answered truthfully. “Yes, yes I am.”

“WOW!” His speaker was almost blown out with the ensuing speech. “Mr Papyrus told me about you and how you're a robot and how your a celebrity and how you're super cool.” The boy took a deep breath. “And then you once fought Frisk and you changed your mind after you were defeated and then he showed me an action figure of you and said you have very cool legs! Do you like spaghetti?”

Mettaton couldn't find any other answer but to giggle. _“Oh my this child is delightful!”_ he thought to himself, trying not to burst out laughing. Stifling his giggles he replied. “I just so happen to love spaghetti! Mainly because it's loved by some of my favourite people in this world.”

“Who?” Tan asked, gasping in anticipation.

“You and Papyrus of course!”

The boy giggled in a similar manner over the phone, obviously having the time of his life. After laughing happily for a while, the boy asked suddenly. “Is Mr King Guy with you?”

Asgore perked up his ears, recognising one of his many monikers. Coming closer to Mettaton's speaker he cautiously said. “I am here young one. What do you wish to tell me?”

“Be careful with Sunny.” Tan's voice had slowed significantly and it seemed to lack his regular tone of excitement. “He's... not exactly happy with being brought back.”

The king froze at this information and carefully asked. “Why is this, Sunny, so upset about being brought back?”

“He wanted to pass on... He wanted to leave.” His voice was sad and after a few seconds, Tan passed the phone back to Alphys.

The scientist seemed to be a bit shaken up by this conversation. “I-it seems that this “Sunny” child may be inclined to um... Fight you Asgore. B-but I am confident that you will find a way to spare them no matter what! After all, Frisk was able to spare you.”

Asgore sighed deeply, the uncertainty of a battle looming over him. He truly did not want to have to Fight anyone. “I, as far as my soul will allow, will gain the human's trust. Even if it means harm to myself.”

“A-Asgore don't be s-so morbid. I'm sure this Sunny child is simply confused and upset. They've been dead for an unknown amount of time. Just be patient with them.”

“I will Alphys. And before I leave; is Tori alright? I mean, I know the children love her to bits and her the same to them, but I was wondering if she is taking it well?” He asked, concerned for his (technically-ex) wife.

“Sh-she's doing fine. Jade is helping her take care of the other kids. Tan has pretty much attached himself to Papyrus. And Nerissa and Momoko are just trying to relax. They've had a hard day. A-although...” She trailed off, sounding worried. “S-she hasn't been able to contact Sans or Frisk since they left, and she's g-getting worried. She asks to check New Home if you're passing by.”

Asgore raised a concerned brow. Come to think of it, he too hadn't heard anything from either Frisk nor Sans. Unusual considering Frisk called Papyrus and Undyne non-stop whilst in the Underground. And Sans frequently swapped god-awful albeit flattering “Mr Dreemy” or “As-Gorgeous” puns with Toriel. “I will take a detour and try to find them. But I am certain that Sans knows what he's doing. I wouldn't trust him with Frisk if he wasn't.”

“R-right. I have to leave the phone now, Tan's dog is k-knocking over something in the kitchen.” She said as a crashing noise happened in the background, followed by Papyrus letting out a yell of despair (“MY CASSEROLE DISH!”). “I wish you two luck in the search. Bye!”

“See you later darling~!”

“Good day Alphys.”

The phone clicked off, leaving them with an eerie silence.

“So.” Mettaton asked, breaking the ice. “I start at my hotel, you head straight for the CORE?”

The king nodded and began walking towards the resort. “That would be the most logical, yes. I just hope we find them here. It would be horrible to think they've become lost in the CORE's mechanisms or even in the Capital's empty streets.”

The MTT Resort was barren. Perhaps even more so than Hotland.

At least where Hotland had a few wandering spiders or pyropes, the resort didn't seem to have bugs or even living plant life.

The fountain was empty, due to the engineers turning off the water, and the crude statue to Mettaton's rectangle body that stood atop of it was completely parched. A spot in the carpet next to it was covered in a dry mould.

“Hmm.” The robot hummed, clearly not liking that his resort was left in such shambles. “I thought I told them to clean this place thoroughly when I left. Honestly what monster wants to walk into a clearly abandoned hotel?”

“One that didn't leave the Underground?” Asgore asked dryly, continuing to walk to the end of the lobby. “I will depart from here. Once you have either found the child or exhausted your search, we can meet outside New Home.”

“Of course your Majesty. And if I find a child first, I'll call you and rub your face in it.”

The king laughed before leaving. “It's a deal.”

With that Mettaton began his search of the hotel.

***

Sans was breathing heavily.

Even with the use of the shortcuts, the kid kept out running him.

“c'mon Frisk. why are your running off like that?” he signed to the kid, knowing that he wouldn't get a verbal answer.

He had figured out that the kid didn't talk after meeting them in Snowdin Forest and had along with the others been gradually incorporating sign language into their everyday conversations. It had been easy for him and Paps, as they had learnt sign language from Grillby when he used to babysit them. Not all monsters could speak after all.

“F-l-o-w-e-y.” They signed back letter for letter, still running towards the end of the corridor.

The skeleton's face would pale if it could. “that little weed? he's been nothing but trouble since you met him! why are you so concerned about him now?”

“A-s-r-i-e-l.”

Sans almost fainted when he read that name.

***

“Hello~! Is there anyone hiding in here?” Mettaton said in a sing-song voice, looking under the dining tables. “I'm not hostile of anything, it's just that the hotel is closed forever and you have to leave.”

His high-heeled feet clicked against the bare floor of the dining room. The plants long since wilted and the floor and walls gutted, leaving an almost blank concrete room.

The guest rooms turned up the same results. All bare with no furniture or decorations, except for a room which was coated floor to ceiling in Dog Residue, but Mettaton figured it had been the guest's own business.

With no where left to check, the robot gingerly made his way into the MTT Burger Emporium. Stepping inside, he laughed out loud. After seeing how human restaurants operated on the Surface, the old burger emporium had become an embarrassing memory. It turned out that human burger joints typically didn't have food made out of edible glitter and sequins.

A tiny laugh followed his own.

Gasping, he looked over the counter to see an absolutely tiny little girl standing behind the grill. She had a long mane of wavy red hair and lightly freckled brown skin. She continued to pretend-cook a patty on the grill, her green gingham patterned sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

Mettaton almost squealed when he saw her. Her face lit up with a massive smile in return and she abandoned her pretend-burger patty to come up to the counter.

“Hello there sweetheart!” He greeted, surprised to see how young she was. “Are you filling in for everybody?”

The girl nodded, putting her hands on her hips and standing like a cook would. “Um-hm!”

The robot could barely hide his joy. Giggling he ordered. “Well then! I would like a burger and a side of fries, please.”

“Si!” The girl nodded, turning towards the grill and pretending as if the pretend-meat was burning. She sang an altered version of “Little Miss Muffet” as she flipped the pretend-patty and cut the pretend-potatoes. “La señorita Mufete araña. Sentada en un taburete. Comía su cuajado y su suero. Una araña llegó. A su lado se sentó. Y pidió a la señorita Muffet para el té ~.”

Mettaton's translation software told him that the final line had been significantly altered and he asked in his best Spanish. “Did you happen to meet some friendly spiders on the way here?”

The girl answered as she lowered the pretend-potatoes into the empty fryer. “Spider lady told me to go here and wait for someone.”

The robot smirked, Muffet, who was in the process of cleaning out her old cave, must have gotten wind of the search and had cleverly directed the girl to the hotel where either he or Asgore would have to go through to reach the CORE. “Was she nice to you?”

The girl retrieved a purple-glazed spider doughnut from her inventory and showed it to him. “Very nice! Gave me four!”

“And where are the other three?”

She patted her belly in response.

After lifting up the pretend-fries and wrapping the pretend-burger, the girl placed them on the counter in front of Mettaton. “Buen provecho!”

“Thank you very much!” He counted out pretend-change and gave it to her and made a show of unwrapping the “burger” and taking a bite out of it. “Delicious, darling!”

She giggled happily, having to stand on her tippy toes to see over the counter.

After eating the pretend-burger and fries, Mettaton threw his pretend-food wrappers in the trash can, placing his pretend-tray on top of it. Turning back to the little girl he said. “Well darling, me and my friends were sent to help find you and your friends so we could all go to the surface. Do you want to come with us?”

She bounced all the way out of the kitchen and into Mettaton's metallic arms. “Sí sí sí!”

Mettaton couldn't keep himself from laughing happily. “Alright my little chef, I'll take you to Toriel. Also before I tell them we're coming, could you tell me your name?”

The girl pointed to her green flour-sack dress and with a mischievous look waited for him to guess.

“Oh! You want to play a round of charades first? Alright! Hmm... well your dress is green so I'm going to say... Myrtle?”

“No!” she giggled, continuing to point at her dress.

“Well you can't be a Jade because we already have a Jade. So... Paris?”

“No!”

“Fern?”

“No!”

“Laurel?”

“No!”

“How about Avocado? You look like an Avocado.”

“No, no no!” The girl replied, her face now red with laughter. She began mimicking the act of shaking and pouring a drink, topping it all off with putting something in the pretend-glass.

The answer buzzed in Mettaton's head and he answered. “Are you perhaps... an Olive?”

“Sí, sí!” The newly dubbed Olive confirmed, jumping straight into Mettaton's arms and pointing towards the door. “¡Adelante!”

“One moment my little Olive oil, I just have to call my friends and tell them we're... Oh my there's quite a lot of texts from Sans, I must check in on him.” He said, going into his contact list. “I hope Asgore found the last child alright...”

***

Despite the Underground's abandonment, the CORE was still fully operational. Whether through it's significance to monsters, or the sheer amount of renewable energy it produced, many of the original engineers and maintenance workers went out of their way to keep the plant going.

Asgore had even considered connecting it to the Surface's power grid but hadn't gotten around to it. Human politicians were far more interested in hearing how monsters fought rather than how they lived.

At the moment though, it seemed to be empty. The lack of “Warning wet floor” signs and the low lighting telling him that the maintenance workers had gone home for the day.

The layout of the CORE was the same as the day Frisk came to it. The workers felt little need to renovate the hallways and puzzles since the threat of a human invasion was now nullified.

Deciding that the chance of a human child being in there was low, the king made his way to the elevators and pressed the button to bring him to the entrance of New Home.

Sighing deeply he said to himself. “This is harder than I anticipated. If this Sunny child decides to Fight me I will be forced to battle them... I hope to the heavens that we do not.”

So it was to his surprise when he found an eleven year old standing in the hallway outside his home.

The boy's shaggy corn silk hair almost hid the furious look in his eyes. His olive-tone skin was marked with random light splotches that took up a large area of his face. Angry red sunburns covered his arms and neck.

The monster king and the pre-teen stared intently at each other. Neither wanted to make the first move.

Asgore was the first to speak. “I assume you are Sunny?”

“Lets get to the point.” The boy's broken country drawl barked at him. Hand lingering over the remaining gun in one of his two holsters. “You know why I'm here.”

The king sighed and looked at the floor shamefully. The yellow-soul child was one of the few that had actually reached him and fought. His hostility was VERY justified.

“Sunny... Words will never make you excuse or forgive my actions, but please... understand that I know what I did to you was wrong and I know that I will never be able to make it up to you.”

“You can make it up to me by Fighting!” Sunny shouted, his hand itching to pull out his weapon. “C'mon old man! Time for round two!”

Asgore was terrified. Not of the child, but of what may happen within the next few minutes. “Please Sunny... Don't do this.”

“Stop talking and just Fight me!”

With that, against his will, Asgore was thrown into a battle.

Sunny had the first round. He took the gun from it's holster and fired bullets of pure determination at the monster king.

Asgore was thrown back, a significant chunk had been taken out of his HP by the barrage of magic bullets. The pain was terrible but as with most magic attacks, it hadn't left much surface damage. It was his round now.

He choose to Act.

“Sunny you don't have to do this.” he pleaded, his heart heavy with guilt. “Neither of us have to.”

The boy replied with three lines of bullets in turn. He argued back “You didn't have to the last time! What's so different about now? You never had to take me or the others! You're just a big coward!”

The king bowed his head and admitted as he barely missed the bullets. “I am. I only ever needed one soul to cross the barrier. But I was afraid you see. Afraid that if I were to go to the surface alone, I would be struck down by humans. Just as my son was...”

“That's no freakin' excuse!” Sunny fired another attack, this time a very large singular bullet. “Everybody has dead people! You ain't the first person to lose somebody!”

The magic bullet ploughed through it's opponent mercilessly. Asgore yelled as it ripped through his soul, taking him down to half of his HP. The hallway was wrecked by the attack, the windows to the house smashed in by the previous barrage of bullets.

Acting again, Asgore continued on. “Please Sunny... Please... Toriel wants to see you again. She's so worried about you.”

The boy hand shook when he heard that. His attacks became unfocused, some almost missing their target entirely. “You... you're lying. She'd be dead by now. It's been like a hundred something years since I had to leave her. I understand why you're alive, you've been carting around seven something souls for god knows how long.”

“She's not dead Sunny. She and I both live for a very long time. We are unable to age naturally unless we have children. Did you not find it odd that she was so quick to take you in as her own?” Asgore asked, hoping that the reminder of Toriel would lessen the child's attack

He was wrong.

An explosion of magic bullets erupted from the boy's gun. The attacks came like torrential rain, some white, some yellow, and a few orange which Asgore was able to dodge my moving backwards.

“This isn't good.” the king thought to himself, his body bruised and the taste of blood on his tongue. His HP was below 90 percent, if he were to take another attack he would likely die. He ruminated on what he should do next when someone's voice popped into his mind.

_“ever wonder why monsters don't just try to dodge your attacks?”_

Asgore recognised the voice but wasn't sure where he had heard it before. In any case, it was giving very good advice. Standing his ground he Acted as if it would be the last thing he'd do.

“Sunny, Toriel expects both of us to come home. Please don't return to her a murderer.”

“Stop, stop, stop, stop, STOP!” Sunny could barely keep his aim straight, his hand was shaking and his eyes were cloudy with tears. “You're lying!”

He wiped eyes with his shirt sleeve before blindly firing one last special attack.

The magic bullet was larger than anything Asgore had ever seen before. It resembled more of a bomb than anything that would be shot from a barrel.

“I see you've made your choice son...” He said grimly, giving the boy one last smile. “Tell Tori I won't be home for dinner alright?”

In one gigantic war cry Sunny let loose his special attack.

The wall and ceiling collapsed as the attack hit them with a blinding flash. Half of the hallway was reduced to complete rubble as the magic dissipated.

_Click. Click. Click._

Sunny kept pulling the trigger as if a bullet would emerge from the empty chambers. He coughed out lungfuls of dust and felt like vomiting, as he was likely breathing in the king of monsters. Tossing his gun away, he collapsed onto the floor, letting each racking cough and sob come over him.

“Hello, this is Toriel speaking. Are you there Asgore?” a distinct feminine voice asked through the chaos. After receiving no reply she asked worriedly. “Are you alright? What's going on?”

“Oh god, oh god, oh god please don't make him be right...” Sunny's voice wavered, searching around in the rubble for the source of the sound. He came across the dusty block of plastic, a few feet away. Toriel's voice continuing to leak out of it.

“...Asgore did you butt-dial me again? You must really keep your phone out of your back pocket.”

“Mama! I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry!” the boy cried into the box, despite not really understanding the situation. “Please don't hate me!”

Toriel gasped on the other side, recognising the voice. “Sunny! I thought I wouldn't hear from you again! I was thinking you might have been lost in the Capital or ran into a trap in the CORE... What do you mean by “don't hate me”?”

Sunny broke down into sobs again. “M-mama I killed him. I killed King Asgore.”

“...Oh heavens please tell me you didn't do it Sunny. Please just let this be a bad tasting joke.” Her voice deepened with sadness. Even though she and her husband weren't on the best of terms at the moment, she still harboured some love and concern for him. “Why did you Fight?”

“I-i thought he was l-lying. I though you were d-dead.” he said in his broken voice, tears and snot pouring down his face. “But I guess he was telling the truth... Oh god please don't hate me Mama.”

Toriel took in a deep breath before answering “I could never hate you baby, I know you were very scared and confused. We all are really. But... Asgore was a great man. He committed horrible things but it was almost always for the good of his people. This may be hard to grasp at your age but sometimes the best decision isn't the easiest. He knew that.”

“He also knew how to dodge an attack.”

Both voices gasped at the sound of King Asgore, very tired but very much alive. He straightened himself up and explained. “I was reminded of some advice my friend gave me and I ducked into the house when your eyes were covered. I must have dropped my phone when I ran. Sorry for scaring both of you.”

“Asgore you butt!” Toriel laughed, sounding close to crying. “I thought you were dead you old goat!”

“I thought so too.” He admitted, turning towards the young boy. “You are a very strong young man. Where did you learn how to fight like that?”

Sunny's voice crackled as he answered. “I... I taught myself. My folks couldn't teach me and my brothers wouldn't... so I learnt on my own.”

“Impressive. You would make a terrific fighter one of these days, if only you could control your attacks better. Those magic attacks are quite devastating to the scenery.”

Sunny looked around the destroyed room and gave the king a sheepish smile. “Sorry?”

“No, no, no, my boy. I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm the one that caused you so much suffering. And I'm that one that almost destroyed humanity over my personal losses.”

“Yeah... that's pretty bad compared to my stuff.” Sunny agreed immediately.

“I concur.” Toriel said, reminding them that the call hadn't disconnected yet. “But thank the heavens you two are alright. Alphys says that Mettaton found the other child, so we now have all six. When you two of ready we can all meet up in Snowdin so we can go home. I just can't wait!”

“...Six?” Sunny asked, scratching his forehead. “There weren't six.”

“Hmm?” Both adults hummed confusedly.

“You mean you haven't found the other two and Gramps yet?” the boy asked again, gaining a surprised look from Asgore and a gasp from Toriel.

The cellphone ringed again. This time it was a group call from Sans.

Accepting it, Asgore paled when it picked up.

“get to the Ruins. ** now**.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Okay long chapter with a cliffhanger. I hope Olive's Spanish was accurate enough. I wanted to make Asgore's confrontation with the last child that little bit more heart-tugging, hence the fake-out death scene. Also I left a few hints to the main ships in this chapter so have fun picking them out. I'll be back shortly and please feel free to review.  
> Also I've been correcting some grammar errors in the previous chapters so if anything looks different don't worry.


	5. Reunion

“I wonder what happened to Sans to shake him up so dearly?” Toriel asked absent-mindedly, holding Jade's hand as they speed walked down the corridors of the Ruins. The skeleton had sent out a mass call to the group to get to the entrance to the Ruins immediately but didn't elaborate on why before hanging up.

 

“Maybe Frisk found something?” Undyne asked in turn, Nerissa on her back with her arms around the fish woman's neck. “I wouldn't be surprised if they one upped us and found even more kids!”

 

“IT CERTAINLY WOULD BE WELCOMED!” Papyrus replied, lagging behind as he walked with Tan clasped on to his arm, the young boy trying his best to swing from the skeletal limb. “WITH FRISK WE HAVE SEVEN IN TOTAL, BUT EIGHT OR NINE WOULD MAKE A NICE ROUND NUMBER AS WELL.”

 

Alphys tried her best to keep up with the others, Momoko stopping every few steps to allow her to keep pace with him. “I just h-hope Asgore and Mettaton get here s-soon...”

 

As if he was listening in, Mettaton burst into the corridor, a tiny girl held carefully close to his chest. “You rang darling~? Me and my little Olive oil were just waiting until it became fashionably late. Isn't that right my little gourmet?” Olive just replied with more giggles as the robot booped her nose.

 

Alphys almost laughed when she saw her robotic friend devolve into coos and praise over the small child, but held her tongue as the chance of finding someone Mettaton genuinely adored was rare. “Well at least you didn't burst t-through the walls or anything. According to A-Asgore, a portion of New Home was d-destroyed during the search.”

 

“How the hell did that happen?” Undyne asked angrily. “I know no body like lives there anymore but they could of at least have respect for the old place!”

 

“I said I was sorry!” A young boy replied, running into the corridor. Turning around he yelled down the hall. “C'mon old man! You ain't that out of shape!”

 

Asgore staggered into view moments later, looking a little worse for wear. Wheezing he said. “Sorry for the delay. The Riverperson no longer works these waters so we had to travel on foot.”

 

“Asgore!” Toriel exclaimed, running to join him. She gasped as she saw that his HP was still very low. “You're hurt!”

 

“I've had worse Tori.” He tried to soothe her, failing as she worked her green magic on him. He hummed contentedly as his soreness seemed to melt away under her touch.

 

“He has.” Jade agreed, turning to Sunny she began scolding him. “You absolute fool! You could have really hurt him! We agreed not to Fight anyone, remember?”

 

“No, YOU agreed not to Fight. I didn't raise my hand or nothin'.” The boy argued, his piebald face gaining a reddish tint.

 

“None of us could have raised our hands, since we didn't have any!” Jade argued back, her hair ribbon becoming undone. “We were disembodied souls after all!”

 

The two continued to throw insult after insult at one another, ranging from childish to genuinely hurtful.

 

Sensing a fight, Toriel stepped in. “Children please behave yourselves. Although what Sunny did was wrong, he was justified in being angry at Asgore. Also Jade, I think he's been chastised enough as it is. Now, what do you say to each other?”

 

The two children looked away from each other and scowled.

 

“Children, frowning won't suffice. Try saying “I'm sorry” to each other.”

 

The two gave pained looks before blurting out.

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

“I apologise.”

 

“Good!” The boss monster clapped, taking either child by the hand before turning back down the corridor. “Now let's all go see what Sans wanted to show us.”

 

Undyne's eyes widened as she suddenly remembered. “Then what have we been standing around here for? Let's go!” She bolted down the hall, Nerissa letting out a surprised yip as she held on tighter.

 

“Ahh! Undyne wait for us!” Alphys yelled after her, taking Momoko's hand and rushing to keep up with her.

 

“Oh yes!” Asgore snapped out of his daze, the sibling-like spat reminding him of now painful memories. “We mustn't dawdle. He sounded very concerned over the phone.”

 

With that the large group began speed walking yet again down the purple corridors of the Ruins. As they walked, Toriel noticed when Sunny held her hand tighter, slowly reaching to hold onto Asgore's as well. Her heart ached painfully.

 

***

 

When they reached the end of the caverns they saw Sans standing in front of a patch of flowers. He was staring straight ahead, eyes locked onto something standing in the flowers. The group was almost afraid to come closer, dreading that something had happened to Frisk.

 

“SANS! WE CAME AS SOON AS WE COULD. NOW... SANS? WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE?” Papyrus, being the first to approach his brother, was also the first to see the three figures standing under the dim light of the gap. “AND... WHY DO I FEEL LIKE I KNOW THEM?”

 

“because you do Paps.” Sans replied darkly, not tearing his eyes from the sight.

 

Undyne, her bravery shining through, was the second to come forward. Upon looking, her aggressive stance dropping into a puzzled stare.

 

Alphys coming in third, her curiosity getting the better of her. Her eyes widened at what was there.

 

Mettaton was fourth, his robotic eyes more suited to the dim light, he didn't need to step forward. The sight made him blink confusedly before moving his hand to protectively cover Olive's tiny form.

 

Asgore and Toriel came as a pair and had to adjust their eyes to see what was going on.

 

They gasped.

 

“Mom?” Two familiar voices asked in unison, one mild and high pitched, the other low and gravelly from either sickness or fatigue. “Dad?”

 

They began crying.

 

“Mom!”

 

“Dad!”

 

Asgore and Toriel sprung forward, accidentally dragging Jade and Sunny with them. They both collapsed on to the flower bed as they knelt to embraced the two unexpected arrivals.

 

“Asriel!” Toriel yelled, clutching her son in a hug tighter than a vice grip. Asriel responded in the same, letting out a small bleating sound.

 

“Chara!” Asgore sobbed, his child responding by patting his face tiredly.

 

As this was happening Alphys gasped and began tugging on Undyne's arm. “Prince Asriel and Princev Chara! Their deaths are what caused the law to be enacted!”

 

The others hanged back, feeling it best not to intrude on such a lovely scene. The six children came close but waited for their turns.

 

“C'mon dad... I'm dirty... And haven't had a shower in a couple decades or so.” The human child joked, their clothes and skin covered in their grave's soil.

 

“I thought... I thought...” Words failed the king. Hugs said more than words could. “I'm so glad you're back.”

 

Toriel raised her head from her son's shoulder, looking around until she found Frisk standing nearby, she asked. “My child, how did you know to come here?”

 

Frisk signed back tiredly, their hands covered in the same dirt as Chara. “Asriel was here. He was here the last time I checked but he said that he would turn back into a flower. We had to dig up Chara.”

 

Asgore let out a whimper and if possible, held Chara tighter. The child being able to do nothing but pat their father's back.

 

“A flower?” Toriel asked, looking very puzzled. Looking down at her son she asked him. “What flower?”

 

The young goat monster replied nervously. “It's a looong story mom. I'll tell you when we get home.”

 

“Oh! Well sweetie, since we are in fact leaving the Underground, our home might be elsewhere. Now that I think about it, we might need an even bigger home. Considering the additional children.”

 

The six children took this as their cue and came forward, putting Asriel and Chara into their own tight group hug. They began an uproar of cheers and laughter, the two royals both crying tears of joy as the six said words of praise and relief.

 

“You're finally here!”

 

“I never thought we'd get this far!”

 

“We can leave now right?”

 

“I can't wait to go back up!”

 

“We missed you so much!”

 

“Nice to see ya back from the reaper!”

 

Frisk was dragged into the group, letting out their own happy tears as the whole group circled around them and held them tight. Sunny hoisted them over his shoulders and the group began cheering for them like a hero returning from battle.

 

As the children rejoiced, Papyrus tried to rouse his brother from his frozen state. “NEVER EVER SCARE US LIKE THAT AGAIN SANS! WE THOUGHT SOMETHING WAS TERRIBLY WRONG... SANS? ARE YOU SERIOUSLY OKAY?”

 

Sans didn't reply. Standing completely still, he pointed at the dark empty space where the light couldn't reach and asked. “what in name of everything that's good in this world are **you**?”

 

The room grew quite as the skeleton's words caught everyone's attention. Sans gave a dangerous look to the empty space and asked in a grim voice. “show yourself or i'll make ya.”

 

At first the empty space didn't respond.

 

Until seconds later when a horrible amorphous being came into the light.

 

Now normally children would scream and/or run if they saw a inky black blob lurching towards them. So it was truly a surprise when instead of fleeing; the children ran forward. All nine circling it as if it were a relative they had not seen in a long time.

 

“GRAMPS!” Sunny yelled happily, Frisk still on his shoulders.

 

The smaller child gasped and jumped off the older one's shoulders. They began signing rapidly to the creature and apparently was getting a response through two skeletal hands floating in the goop.

 

“Hello Frisk. I missed you.” the creature signed slowly, making a strange static-y noise whenever it moved it's hands. “I trust you are okay?”

 

Frisk nodded and replied. “Yes! Why are you here?”

 

“I'll need to tell everyone so I'll have to use my talking voice.” The creature straightened itself up and began speaking aloud, the static ever more present as it spoke. “I am very sorry for the inconvenience. I'm afraid that this is all my doing. I would have done this earlier, but they advised me to wait.”

 

Sans trembled when he heard that voice, trudging forward he asked. “dad?”

 

The creature responded immediately. “Hello Sans. Hello Papyrus. Sorry I am so late. You've both gotten very tall.”

 

“WOWIE! THE PRIMORDIAL OOZE KNOWS MY NAME! AND IS MY... FATHER? _!_ ” Papyrus stepped forward, pausing as the implications hit him. “WAIT... SANS I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER OUR FATHER.”

 

“you wouldn't Paps. heh heh heh... he fell into one of his machines when you were a baby bones.” Sans explained, laughing as tears ran down his face. “I was doin' my science course in the capital when the scientists he worked for called and said he... died. freaking torn apart by some kinda anomaly. heh heh heh... I'm surprised you never asked about him.”

 

“YOU... NEVER REALLY TALKED ABOUT HIM. I ASSUMED THAT IT WAS JUST A PAINFUL MEMORY. YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM DURING THE HOLIDAYS OR KEPT ANY PHOTOS AROUND. YOU ACTED LIKE YOU WANTED TO FORGET ABOUT HIM.”

 

“wasn't like I had a choice Paps.” Sans tried to laugh off his sadness but failed, causing the tears to pile down his face and his voice to crack. “the anomaly heh, it made us forget. it made everyone forget. heh heh heh...”

 

The two brothers looked at each other, both close to crying into each other's arms. They had spent such a large chunk of their lives deprived of their father that his sudden reintroduction was perhaps more jarring than his death. The creature made deep drumming sounds as if it too were close to crying.

 

“I'm sorry but I am completely lost here!” Mettaton admitted, deciding it was time to ask. “Can someone PLEASE clarify what's going on?”

 

The creature seemed to push against itself, shaping it's body into a vaguely humanoid figure. The features of a man who was most definitely once a skeleton began forming in it's place. His skull had long cracks stretching down his face and his hands had large holes where solid bone should have been. It looked like this man had been through a lot.

 

He coughed and explained the best he could. “I am W.D Gaster. Royal Scientist and father to my sons Sans and Papyrus. Well former scientist I should say. My position was passed down to Ms. Alphys after my demise.”

 

Alphys looked close to fainting, the strangeness of the evening was finally getting to her and now she could only stutter out the words. “Wind Dings G-Gaster. Cr-creator of t-the CORE. Ch-childhood idol.” She fell backwards, thankfully landing in Undyne's arms.

 

“Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately given my current state, I did not actually die. But was... scattered across time and space as it were. Evidence of my life erased from the world. I was barely even a ghost of my former self, only existing on a quantum scale. Please forgive me for the comparison Hapstablook.”

 

It was Mettaton's turn to stutter. “H-how did you-”

 

“Papyrus mentioned you a few times in passing. Cousin of Napstablook. Aspiring idol and corporeal being. I am glad you reached your goal.” Turning to his younger son, Gaster explained with an urging tone. “I may not have been there in body but I was certainly there in spirit. You used to think I was your imaginary friend and you used to called me “Mystery Man”. Remember that?”

 

Papyrus's eyes were getting misty, the reality of finally meeting his father in person had begun settling in. “YOU... I... YOU REALLY WERE ALWAYS THERE WEREN'T YOU? EVEN WHEN I THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS CONVINCED THAT I WOULD NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN. I THOUGHT I'D FORGET WHAT YOUR FACE LOOKED LIKE SO I'D DRAW YOU HUNDREDS OF TIMES OVER UNTIL MY CRAYONS RAN OUT.”

 

Gaster smiled and retrieved an old, crumpled drawing from his inventory. The drawing had three figures on it. One tall and in a long black coat, one round and in a blue coat, and one final small figure in a big orange robe. The words “don't forget” were written multiple times over the page in red crayon and once more in black marker. “I know you did. Sans kept this one safe for many years.”

 

“how did you even find it? matter of fact how did you even find your way back?” Sans asked calmly, taking the drawing from his father's hands. “I thought you said you were lost in the anomaly.”

 

“So did I but... Something happened. I'm not sure how to explain it but it was as if something or someone kept changing the functional value of the universe. Every so often things would get less... scrambled and I and my colleagues would be able to wander the Underground uninhibited. It was during one of these times that I first met Frisk.”

 

Gaster held out his hand to the child and smiled softly as Frisk took in into their own.

 

“It was shocking honestly. I had met them during a later timeline and they were eager to get to know me. Overtime, even as theirs and everyone's memories were erased with each Reset. Frisk still went out of their way to try and reach me. The times they didn't are far and few between.”

 

Toriel had risen from the floor and asked. “What are these “timelines” and “resets”?

 

Asriel and Chara both winced for some strange reason.

 

The older skeleton coughed on his words when he saw Toriel and addressed her as he should of. “Y-your Majesty! Beg pardon for ignoring you and your family in such a manner. I was merely excited to catch up with my sons.”

 

The queen of monsters laughed warmly as Gaster attempted to bow without falling back into his amorphous form. “Wind Dings please. You can just call me Toriel.”

 

“R-right. Toriel.” Gaster said nervously, being so used to formalities. “Well you see... The anomaly did more than just “kill” me. It also permanently damaged the way time flowed for us. Out of nowhere your life could be knocked back by weeks simply because something went wrong for someone with the ability to “reset” their mistakes or “load” up a time before the made a bad decision. The only saving grace is that the anomaly also erased the memories of those affected by it. Well... most of the time at least.”

 

He looked down at Sans, who stared back at him in mock confusion. Soon the whole room was fixated on him.

 

“what? why are y'all staring at me for?”

 

“Don't lie Sans. You suffered as well.” Gaster said sternly. Like a parent would to a child caught hiding something in their room.

 

“heh heh heh... heh.” the shorter skeleton chuckled, unable to hide his crushing sadness. “I... was able to remember some timelines. well it was more like I was aware of the other timelines but I could only get glimpses of them. like they were movies I had yet to watch but saw advertised all over undernet. In some the kid was just amazing, some they were alright, and in a few... well let not talk about that shall we?”

 

He continued to laugh as his socket turned dark and he instinctively moved closer to Papyrus. The taller skeleton put his arm around his brother and squeezed him into a sympathetic one-armed hug.

 

“I just... hope this isn't a dream you know? like I ain't gonna go to sleep and wake up the day Frisk arrived in the underground again. I figured something was off this time what with the kids comin' back to life but I'm still kinda afraid.”

 

“Sans...” Asgore said sadly, hand ghosting over the pain in his chest. “I remember too.”

 

Sans's eyes widened immediately and he let out a strangled squeak. “you too? _!_ ”

 

“Yes but only in the way you described. It was if another set of memories were already in place once I got to a certain point. I have... terrible memories of a time where the Underground was laid to ruin and I was urged to absorb the six souls to fight Frisk. Then all of a sudden I awoke to a peaceful world yet again. At first I thought it was no more than a nightmare but the fear stayed with me. Then I started to recognise patterns that shouldn't have been there.”

 

“like what?”

 

“Like how... I thought you loitered around the castle a lot despite that day being the first time you visited in months. Or how I thought, “These flowers are taking years to grow” yet they grew at the exact rate a golden flower should. And how certain news reached me before it happened. Like Undyne's house being burnt to the ground, Mettaton debuting in a new body, or a seventh human arriving in the Underground. The knowledge would come to me before it had even happened.”

 

“whoa... heh looks like I wasn't the only one getting the groundhog day blues.” Sans commented, shocked by how much the king was able to remember. “but why us?”

 

“I might have an answer for that.” Asriel announced, getting up from his place on the flower bed. Brushing himself off he began. “It seems that the closer you are to the anomaly, the more aware you are of it's effects. Like Sans knew about them 'cus he was in such frequent contact with the machine that started it all. And Dad knew cus... I was able to Save and Load when ever me and Frisk fought at the barrier.”

 

Toriel gasped. “You fought each other? _!_ ”

 

“Relax mom, he was a soulless floral husk most of the time.” Chara dead-panned, bored by the long winded explanations.

 

“What? _!_ ”

 

“Plus we were dragged into it no matter what.” Sunny exclaimed, the other five children agreeing loudly. “Asgore is killed - absorbed by Flowey. Asgore is spared – absorbed by Flowey. Asgore does himself in – absorbed by Flowey. It was getting pretty darn redundant.”

 

Toriel and Asgore stared dumbly at their children. Alphys pulled on her collar nervously at the mention of the flower.

 

“I think I m-may all need to sit down and explain.” the scientist suggested, twiddling her fingers. “I'm afraid that the f-flower was my fault. I had taken it from the flowerbed of the throne room and injected small amounts of determination into it, creating Flowey. He unfortunately held Asriel's m-memories but not any emotions or morality. A-at first I thought of it as just a failed experiment but he escaped on his own free will and I was unable to l-locate him afterwards.”

 

“then the little weed started wrecking the world.” Sans suddenly growled, drawing everyone's attention to him. “I know what he'd do to the underground back then. what he'd do to me. what he did to Papyrus... but somehow he lost his ability to go back...”

 

“My fault.” Chara piped up, flicking dirt and flower petals off their ruined clothes. “Frisk only started coming in the later timelines. Whenever they fell they woke me up. Like if falling on my grave was the only thing to get my ghost out. It was only around a few timelines later that I was able to mess with things so they could have the Save function.”

 

Gaster seemed to choke on something, blurting out. “You! You were able to trigger mine and Frisk's encounters. You changed the number values of the universe!” He looked terrified at the implications, but then his expression fell into one of awe. “That's quite amazing.”

 

Chara looked away embarrassedly. “It wasn't like I could do anything else could I? I could only talk to Frisk like extra... etxro... like I was a narrator.”

 

“Extraneously, dear. I think that's the word you're looking for.” Toriel provided, still in disbelief over the whole situation.

 

“Thanks mom. Well I'd be following Frisk around, talking to them extra... that word. Like telling them what stuff was or how stuff worked. I don't think they really knew I was there honestly. I was even less than a ghost by that point.” They looked down at their shoes sadly. A memory then crept uninvited into their mind. “Then there was this one time... I was able to take over. But it was only when Frisk was a really bad person. It was like their personality could change on a dime. One timeline a total cinnamon bun, the next death incarnate.”

 

Frisk looked back at them with a guilty look on their face, unable to properly explain how much they were sorry for those times.

 

“But... the time they were bad it was like... they weren't in control. Like if something else was doing their actions for them.”

 

“Like when you play a video game!” Tan interrupted, remembering a few games he had played where there was a choice of morality. “Your guy isn't doing all that all the time. It's mostly just you!”

 

Chara gave him an annoyed look for interrupting them but agreed. “I guess so, but it was also like if the game was making us do certain actions too. Like when we killed Flowey that one time... Sorry Asriel.”

 

“Don't worry. I didn't like flower me either.” The goat monster admitted, trying not to visualise that time. “I... don't think ANY of us were really in control huh?”

 

“Perhaps not.” Gaster hummed, rubbing the side of his face in thought. “But we were at least aware of our actions and able to change the way we committed them. The six souls certainly were.”

 

The attention of the room turned to the six kids, still in their own little group around Chara and Asriel. After exchanging silent glances with each other, it was determined that Jade go forward.

 

She took a deep breath before explaining. “As Grandpa explained, we weren't in control... but we were able to affect things to go certain ways. Slowly we were able to relay messages to him, explaining how we wanted to come back. How we wanted him to come with us.”

 

Jade looked sadly at Asriel and Chara, continuing. “But... we knew how much Mother and Mr Dreemurr missed their children. So we asked if he could fix things so they could come back too.”

 

Gaster picked up where she left off. “It was very difficult. Of course I had to wait until the optimal circumstances came to me and even then it was only piece by piece... I almost gave up to be honest. It seemed so much easier just to pass on and let you all live out your lives in peace. But... when all hope seemed lost, Asriel sent out one last plea during his battle with Frisk. When he destroyed the barrier by will alone, it gave me the perfect conditions to help reform the six souls and by proxy him and Chara.”

 

All nine children came up to the older skeleton and circled him in one large hug. Gaster gave a tearful smile.

 

“And I'm so glad I didn't lose hope.”

 

Everyone, happy tears streaming down their faces, approached the children and the scientist. And all at once put them into their own joyous hug. Sons reunited with Parent. Parents reunited with children. Children reunited with friends. Friends reunited with those they had never met before but would gladly let them into their heart.

 

Frisk smiled.

 

Their family number had just risen by more than double.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! The whole family is together! Now all they have to do is sort out the living arrangements. I made Chara's royal title Princev, as I know it to be a gender neutral term for a Prince/Princess. Also Grandpa Gaster is here, He and Chara are messing with the universe to make the happy ending even happier. Please leave a comment and also thank you for reading!


	6. Family

It was to everyone's surprised that Gaster wasn't in an immediate hurry to leave the Underground. After all, being trapped in it for an incomprehensible amount of time would make anyone quick to leave.

 

Assuming that the old distorted skeleton was overcome with nostalgia of the old monster kingdom, the group allowed him to do his own ritual of saying goodbye to his old workplaces and favourite hangout spots.

 

It was even more so to everyone's surprise when he returned with a small team of equally distorted scientists, all talking a mile a minute to the man who was once their boss. A small saurian child no older than Frisk kept close to his side.

 

“I must apologise for not announcing my colleagues arrival.” Gaster said, shrugging off the questions his team were pelting him with. “They attempted to replicate my actions in order to find me but they too were spread out across space.”

 

“And the little kid?” Undyne asked, pointing to the gray monster child, thinking to herself that she bore an unmistakable resemblance to Monster Kid.

 

The child stared mournfully at her feet before answering. “I just sorta wandered into it...”

 

Sensing the kid wasn't up for explaining, she put her hand on the kid's limbless shoulder and said. “Alright kid. No need to explain anything. I've gotten enough exposition today to last me a lifetime.”

 

Everyone, including Gaster's followers, nodded in affirmation.

 

***

 

News spread around fast that the six souls along with the royal children and supposedly lost members of the monster community had returned to the world of the living.

 

The first day back was terrible.

 

Notably since every monster wanted a chance to see Prince Asriel and Princev Chara, and every human news outlet was hounding them for details. Asgore and Toriel spent the whole first night back doing speeches to the human government explaining their circumstances. Gaster and his followers used themselves as evidence.

 

The monster community were shocked to have some of their family members return to them. Shortly after the followers reintroduced themselves, a video was posted on UnderNet of Monster Kid's family reuniting with his sister (who had dubbed herself Goner Kid) after years of believing that she had gone missing in the caverns.

 

The kids spent that night in a MTT brand hotel in Washington (provided of course, by dear Uncle Mettaton, or “Ton-ton” as Olive would shorten it to). Needing only brief public appearances, the six souls quickly returned to their hotel room, overwhelmed by how much had changed.

 

Jade, Nerissa and Sunny spent most of the night discussing at length how much America had changed since their disappearances, whilst Tan excitedly talked about the mountains of video games he had missed to a confused but none less interested Momoko. Olive fell asleep next to the Annoying Dog (whom had snuck in with the luggage) during Tan's heated talk on a game called Punch Out.

 

Even after their public appearances, their journey was far from over.

 

After all they had decades of vaccines and medical check ups to catch up on.

 

***

 

“Now, Jade.” The young doctor began, kneeling in front of the scared child. “I'm going to have to administer a few shots so you won't get sick from any diseases you might not be able to handle. Being from a hundred or so years ago, I doubt you could tough them out.”

 

It was there in the pediatric wing of North Ebott Hospital that the reality of being so many years in the future finally hit Jade.

 

Sitting on another chair next to her was Chara, licking a bright red sugar-free lollipop with an angry expression on their face. A bright red bandage stuck on their arm. Asriel and Frisk sat next to them, both with their own green and purple lollipops/bandages respectfully. Sunny was pressed against Toriel's side with a look of abject horror on his face. Sans was sleepily patting Frisk's head, having stolen a few candies for himself.

 

“Okay.” Jade said, straightening herself up in a display of bravery. Holding out her arm, she held her eyes tightly shut as the doctor did the three or more shots needed for her. She winced as the needles went in, gripping Toriel's hand until it hurt. In an instant the pain stopped.

 

“And... We're done!” The doctor exclaimed, giving the area a quick disinfectant wipe before putting on a bright blue bandage, letting the girl choose out a lollipop.

 

Jade, continuing with the theme, chose a blue one. She was surprised to learn that “blue” happened to taste of raspberries.

 

Looking at her chart, the doctor read out. “And finally, Sunny... Goldhirch. Oh! We actually found your file! That's a nice surprise. Looks like you were born at home in... October 1889. Seventh out of nine siblings. Is that right?” She looked rather puzzled, knowing that her patients had special circumstances for being there.

 

The boy huffed, trying to look away from the doctor and tried not to think of the needles sitting on the desk. “Yes'm.”

 

“Big family, huh?” She sympathised, ticking off a box on the paper. “According to what we could find of your medical history, looks like you... Got chicken pox at two, measles at five, gastroenteritis at multiple points in your childhood, and at the age of ten you were admitted for typhoid fever. Wow, you have a bit of a history here.”

 

Sunny looked positively green as she read out his file. Apparently these weren't exactly happy times.

 

“Now, Sunny. Since you were sick quite a lot back then, I'm going to have to do an extra shot. Just to make sure you don't pick up any second hand infections. Is that okay?”

 

Sunny let out a whimper, not being very fond of needles or doctors in general. A month in a typhoid wing does that to you. As he was about to protest and maybe run out of the room, he felt a bony hand squeezing his own.

 

Sans was suddenly by his side. A mischievous smile stretched across his face. “hey kid. did I ever tell you about the student who was training to be a surgeon?”

 

“No. Why?”

 

“he was worried he wouldn't pass but he: made the cut.”

 

Sunny was about to let out a drawn out groan until he felt something pricking his arm. “Yipe!” He vocalised, almost jumping when the doctor managed to get the first needle in. Breathing in heavily, a bony hand turned his face back to Sans, the skeleton trying his best to distract him.

 

“what happens when a hospital runs outta maternity nurses?”

 

With a face red with fear, Sunny replied. Doing everything in his power to keep his mind off the injections. “What happens?”

 

“they have a: mid-wife crisis.”

 

Laughing this time, Sunny didn't notice the second needle. Through a dry mouth, he himself asked. “What's a thing the stork and a doctor have in common?”

 

Sans smiled even wider, anticipating the answer. “I don't know kid. what do they have in common?”

 

“A long bill.”

 

The skeleton burst out laughing, Toriel doing the same seconds later. Sunny laughed along with them, gritting his teeth at the last injection.

 

“Aaand... We're done! That wasn't so bad was it?” The doctor asked, repeating the action of disinfecting and plastering the injection site. “You really toughed it out!”

 

Sunny nodded, his face already full of lemon flavoured candies.

 

“What about those weird splotches on his skin? Are they anything?” Chara asked idly, their lollipop now nothing more than a stick.

 

“Chara. Manners.” Toriel reminded them, patting Sunny's head affectionately. “They're probably just birthmarks.”

 

“Actually it might be vitiligo.” The doctor commented, looking closer at the boy's face. “Or piebaldism. Sunny, have you always had these marks?”

 

Sunny shifted uncomfortably. Sucking on a lemon sherbet he answered. “No. I started getting my spots when I was little. My Da and a few of my uncles had them too. Called them “devil spots”.”

 

The doctor nodded and whispered to her self before speaking up. “Hereditary then. Vitiligo would be the most likely. Don't worry Sunny, your “spots” aren't devilish at all. You just have a minor skin condition.”

 

“Oh.” Was all the boy could say, surprised that his “spots” had a reasonable explanation for being there.

 

“Although it is linked to certain auto-immune disorders, so I might need to take a blood sample to make sure you don't have any of them.”

 

Sunny turned pale again. Sans continued squeezing his hand, jokes at the ready.

 

***

 

“HELLO BROTHER! I TRUST EVERYTHING IS OKAY?” Papyrus greeted his brother as he and the kids exited the doctor's office. Tan was sitting on the floor next to him listening to an 80's dance mix on Papyrus's phone and reading a Nintendo Power comic he found in the play area.

 

“yeah. the kids just needed extra shots cus' they're old.” Sans replied, sitting down next to his brother as the kids wandered over to the play area. Frisk had promised to teach them how to play Hungry Hungry Hippos. “Sunny is pretty frail so he needs a follow-up. Jade has to be on a string of meds for a while. Chara needs a stomach medicine because of the what the buttercups did to their insides. Asriel's nerves aren't working as well as they should. and Frisk has a cold. so overall a good prognosis.”

 

"THAT'S GOOD. TAN'S ON A FEW VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS. THE DOCTOR SAID IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO DO WITH BEING MALNOURISHED WHEN HE WAS LITTLE.” The younger skeleton looked rather disturbed by this fact and shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “I CAN'T REALLY THINK OF WHAT THAT MEANS. HE'S A WONDERFUL CHILD WHO DESERVES ALL THE SPAGHETTI IN THE WORLD. NO SON OF MINE SHALL BE LEFT FAMISHED LIKE THAT!”

 

Sans's attention perked up at the last sentence. Moving to sit closer to his brother he said quietly. “bro... you just called him your son.”

 

“DID I???” Papyrus asked, looking a little embarrassed. Thankfully Tan hadn't heard him, he was in the middle of Eye of The Tiger when Papyrus had said it. Bashfully he admitted. “OH... NOW YOU KNOW.”

 

“know what, bro?”

 

“THAT I HAVE THE INTENTIONS OF BECOMING TAN'S LEGAL GUARDIAN, AND THUS HIS PARENT.”

 

Sans blinked at him dumbly. It went without saying that the kids needed legal guardians but he had assumed that Toriel and Asgore would be by default. “you... you sure bro? I mean it's a pretty big responsibility. you gotta take care of him and provide for him. it ain't nothing like raising a pet rock.”

 

“I KNOW THAT. BUT... IS IT SO WEIRD THAT I WANT TO TAKE CARE OF HIM AND PROVIDE FOR HIM? I MEAN I SPENT SO LONG WITH OUT MY OWN FATHER THAT I HAVE AN URGE TO RIGHT THE WRONGS OF MY UPBRINGING. NO OFFENSE TO FATHER OR YOU SANS.”

 

“none taken.”

 

“AND ALSO... HIS MEDICAL REPORTS SAY IT'S MORE THAN JUST MALNUTRITION...” Papyrus trailed off, looking very uncomfortable. “THEY SAY THAT HE HAS... SCARS. A LOT OF THEM. ALL AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF HEALING.”

 

“oh.” Sans could only reply, catching on to the implications. Looking closely at his possible-nephew he saw light marks covering the back of his neck and arms. He winced painfully. Frisk and Chara both had similar scars. “oh no...”

 

“YEAH... SO I REALLY WANT TO GIVE HIM THE BEST CHILDHOOD HE COULD POSSIBLY HAVE. PACKED LUNCHES, BEDTIME STORIES, A SMALL DOG, A POORLY CONSTRUCTED TREE HOUSE IN THE BACKYARD!” He said confidently, puffing out his chest. ”I'M NOT SURE HOW WELL I'LL DO, BUT I WILL TRY TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITIES!”

 

The older skeleton scanned his brother's expression, giving one or two looks at Tan as the boy continued to scroll through terribly outdated pop music. Sighing deeply, Sans said. “alright bro. If Asgore and Tori will let you. I'll support you one hundred percent.”

 

“REALLY?!” There were practically stars in his eyes when Sans said that. Bringing him into a tight hug, Papyrus started blubbering. “THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! BROTHER YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. I THE GREAT PAPAYRUS WILL RAISE THE HUMAN CHILD AS IF HE WERE MY OWN ECTO AND BONE!”

 

Sans's only response was a wide grin and elbowing his brother's side playfully. “papa-pyrus?” Papyrus's eye twitched when he realised that he had subconsciously made a pun. “wow. barely a minute and you're already dishing out the dad jokes. you're gonna be a pro at this.”

 

“AHH!” The taller skeleton yelled in horror, causing the waiting room to stare at him. “NOOOOO! I DO NOT WISH TO BE LIKE YOU!”

 

“i'm so proud.”

 

“HELLO SO PROUD, I'M PAPAYRUS! OH NO! I DID IT AGAIN!”

 

After five or more accidental dad jokes, Sans and Papyrus's chat was interrupted by Undyne coming in from another room. She leaned against the door and let out a tired sigh. Walking over to the two brothers, she all but sank into the hard plastic bench. She looked close to falling asleep and was waiting for one of them to say anything.

 

Sans was the first to speak up. “things all good on your end?”

 

Undyne rubbed her eyes and let out a small groan. “Nerissa has to stay overnight. She fractured multiple bones in her feet and they need to do surgery to make sure they heal right.”

 

The skeleton winced, thankful that human bone fractures were easily mended. “anything else?”

 

“Yeah. She has a LOT more than those ones. Doc said that it might be because of the ballet cus' it's a demanding sport, but it might also be the injury that...” Her eyes narrowed and she looked mournfully at the kids playing a few feet away. “It might have been what did her in. All those years ago.”

 

Sans nodded in understanding. Even with being brought back to life, the kids still bore the scars of their time Underground. “same. Jade's is on medication and physio cus' she messed up her back. and Sunny's got pretty nasty burn marks on his front. Asgore was practically falling over himself trying to make it up for him. I don't think he minds much though.”

 

He smiled at the thought of the monster king. Asgore was unable to attend the appointment himself as he needed to finalise the documents that would allow the kids be adopted as wards of the monster community. He had to emphasized that a hundred-something year old kid probably wouldn't thrive in a human foster home.

 

As he went quite, Undyne spoke up. “He's a good kid. Powerful as hell too. I might just take him under my wing as my apprentice. Course then I'd have two.”

 

Sans's eyes widened. “two?”

 

“Oh yeah! Nerissa really wants to stay with me.” Undyne blushed when she said this, looking almost as happy when she was with Alphys. She started laughing as she continued. “She wants me to be her guardian. It's so weird! I don't have a maternal bone in my body and she straight up wants me to be her mom! Fuhuhuhuh!”

 

“PERHAPS SHE SEES YOU AS A POSITIVE ROLE MODEL? AFTER ALL I AND MOST OF THE UNDERGROUND CERTAINLY DO!” Papyrus offered, shifting in his seat so Tan could sit up on the bench next to him. He then ruffled the boy's hair as he said dramatically. “WHAT CHILD WOULDN'T WANT THE GREAT UNDYNE THE UNDYING TO BE THEIR MOM?”

 

The fish woman seemed positively stunned by this remark and stuttered out. “I might really screw the kid up. You... you think I could really do it? Take care of her?”

 

“OF COURSE! AFTER ALL SANS TRUSTS ME TO BECOME TAN'S PARENT, AND WE SHOULD BE THE SAME FOR YOU!” Papyrus clasped his hand over his mouth as he realised that said child was between songs.

 

“Huh?” Tan asked. He pulled the headphones off and stared at the skeleton with eyes as wide as saucers. “What did you say Mr Papyrus?”

 

Papyrus, panicking, exclaimed to the whole group. “I SAID AFTER ALL THIS WE SHOULD GO OUT FOR FROSTY CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKES!”

 

Chara, overhearing this, ran over and put the skeleton's legs in a death grip hug. “You're my absolute favourite uncle!”

 

“oh? then who comes in second?” Sans asked the child still clinging to his brother's legs.

 

“Mettaton of course. He bought me chocolate truffles.” Chara replied bluntly, pressing their cheek against Papyrus's knee.

 

“oh well, can't put a price on love.”

 

“NO, BUT EVIDENTLY YOU CAN WITH CHOCOLATE.” Papyrus replied, petting his somewhat-nibling's head as his almost-son excitedly rambled on what he was going to order.

 

***

 

Chocolate milkshakes would have to be put on hold as the day slowly crept to a close. Nerissa would also have to wait a bit as she needed to go fasting before she could go into surgery. As the rest of the group wanted to go back to the hotel, Undyne decided to stay behind with her kid so they could both get some together afterwards.

 

“The doctor told me about a popular diner nearby so we can try there later.” She explained, wondering if the diner carried seagrass flavoured treats. “Nerissa really wants to try out their malted milk. What ever that is.”

 

“milk that has been malted apparently.” the shorter skeleton remarked, zipping up Frisk's jacket.

 

“Malted means it's made f-from germinated cereal grains. M-malt is sometimes added to milk to flavour it.” Alphys explained, exiting the doctor's office with Momoko tiredly holding her hand.

The boy was rubbing his eyes and yawning, not having a decent night's rest due to stomach pains.

 

“Thanks Alphy.” Undyne smiled, moving up on the bench so she and the kid could sit. “How's everything going for the little guy?”

 

“H-he has to be on a stomach medicine for a while. They found tr-traces of poisonous mushrooms in his system and they want to be certain he'll be alright.”

 

“I thought they were chanterelles...” Momoko mumbled, leaning his head against Alphys's left shoulder.

 

The scientist started rubbing his shoulder and soothed. “It's alright. They have a lot of c-copycat species. The o-ones you ate were most likely Jack-o-latern mushrooms, very tricky to tell apart.”

 

The boy hummed and began falling asleep against her shoulder, snoring quietly as the other children began leaving for the day.

 

“Are you three going to be okay?” Toriel asked as she secured a poof-ball hat over Asriel's ears. She had been through a long day of politicians and doctors, and wanted nothing more than to have a long unbroken night of sleep. Not that she would tell anyone that. “Asgore will be here in a few hours and I don't feel comfortable leaving unless you're completely fine.”

 

Undyne smiled at the queen and replied. “No worries, Tori! Nerissa isn't going anywhere and the little guy is fast asleep. I'll send you a text when we're finished up.”

 

“WE'LL SEE YOU AT THE HOTEL.” Papyrus said as quietly as he could, Tan asleep in his arms. “MAKE SURE METTATON KNOWS WHERE WE ARE.”

 

Alphys nodded. “We'll tell him to head straight home once he's done.”

 

Mettaton was also being held back. Olive had symptoms of dehydration and had a few burns splattered across her skin, causing her to be on an IV drip as her injuries were being treated. The robot was inconsolable, angry at himself for not noticing them sooner.

 

“How could I have not noticed that my little Olive Oil was hurt? I'm a terrible parent!” He weeped as the nurse tried to console him. The little girl lay in the bed next to him, happily playing with a plush spider he had bought her.

 

Thankfully at the moment the robot had powered down for a while, plugged into the socket next to Olive's bed.

 

A few minutes after most of the gang had left, Alphys turned her attention back to Undyne and whispered. “How's Nerissa? You said that she's staying in for the night.”

 

The fish woman sighed and leaned over to put her head on Alphys's right shoulder. “She's in the theatre now. They have to... re-break an old one in her leg because it never healed right.”

 

Alphys winced and moved so her arm wrapped around Momoko's sleeping form. “She'll be okay. If she's learnt anything from you, she'll be b-benchpressing the doctor once she wakes up.”

 

Undyne snickered at this, going quite for a moment before mumbling. “She wants me to be her mom.”

 

“R-really?” Alphys stuttered, lowering her volume when the boy at her side tossed slightly. “Do... do you want to be?”

 

She pulled away and stared at the floor, deep in thought. “I'll probably mess up.”

 

“That's not an acceptable a-answer Undyne. I asked do you **want** to be her mom?”

 

“I'm not at all maternal.”

 

“Still not the real answer.”

 

“My mom wasn't even there!”

 

“Undyne, please be honest with me, if not yourself.” Alphys pleaded, cupping her partner's chin with her hand.

 

The former knight's eye was welling up with tears. She answered with wavering confidence. “I really really want to be... But I'm worried that I'll make a mistake and mess her whole life up.”

 

“That's good.”

 

Undyne stared back at her partner with a dumb expression, taken aback by her answer.

 

Alphys stumbled as she explained. “I m-mean that... You're worried. What g-good parent wouldn't? A-and I'd be lying if I hadn't thought of taking in Momoko myself.”

 

“Fuhuhu...” Undyne chuckled through her worry and said jokingly. “Only a few weeks together and we already have two kids? Don't you think that's moving a little fast?”

 

“A positively marvelous development!” A metallic voice commented, catching their attentions. “I couldn't have written a better scene even if I tried.”

 

Mettaton stood there, Olive held close to his chest where a lullaby drifted out from his speaker. The child was looking a lot less pale than before and had large bandages placed on her arms and legs.

 

“How's the squirt?” Undyne asked, glad to have a distraction.

 

“Wonderful as ever.” The robot said proudly, kissing the top of the girl's head as she mumbled in her sleep. “A few change of bandages and some disinfectant cream and she'll be right as rain. I'll admit I got pretty overemotional there.”

 

Alphys blinked in confusion, wondering if this was the same cocky celebrity she was familiar with. “W-wow this kid thing has really changed you. F-for the better I mean!”

 

It was to the scientist's surprise when the robot agreed with her. “I know. I want the absolute best for her. Best clothes, best toys, best childhood... maybe a decent treehouse in the backyard...” He trailed off and turned down his speakers, seeing that the child was completely asleep.

 

“It's just...” He trailed off again, smiling sadly. “I'd never thought I'd have one. Me and Blooky practically raised each other and I didn't think I'd be cut out for it. But this tiny, squishy human brings out an unfamiliar feeling in me. Like when I feed my favourite snail or talk with a really excited fan.”

 

“That's called parental instinct bud.” Undyne said, stretching out her stiff limbs. “Looks like all of us are infected with it.”

 

“If we're not careful Gorey and Tori might wind up back at two!” He giggled, heading towards the door. “I'll meet you all back at the hotel. You stay safe now!”

 

The three adults waved goodbye to one another. Once the robot had left, Alphys and Undyne quickly dozed off to sleep, ignoring the sounds of machines and people walking the halls.

 

***

 

The next time Undyne awoke was when Asgore shook her shoulder, making her almost sock him for rousing her from a good dream. She softened when she realised that Nerissa was by his side, her feet in casts and walking on crutches.

 

“She is supposed to be in a wheelchair, but she insisted on these.” He explained, the child turning her nose up at the idea.

 

“I can sit down whenever I want. I ain't gonna do it all day!” Nerissa claimed, trying to hide the winces she made whenever her feet touched the ground. Luckily Undyne was able to coax her into the chair so she wouldn't tire herself out, the medication making her not the steadiest of people.

 

Outside the hospital she texted Sans and Mettaton so they could meet up at the diner and so Asgore could announce what would become of the human children. In less than ten minutes the whole gang was there and they made their way to the hard-to-miss diner they had heard so much about.

 

The diner was clean, colourful and seemed to be popular with families and bored young adults. Sans made note of the Nice-cream poster out front advertising that it was now available. Looks like he'd be having a ketchup flavoured treat after all.

 

The inside was like a scene from a 1950's nostalgia movie. A big wrap-around bar with stools, chequered tiles, pink neon signs advertising the lunch specials, and a long line of booths shaped to resemble a hot red limousine. The only break in the illusion were the few monster families having breakfast there and a sign listing off the flavours of bubble tea they had.

 

Taking a large booth near the back, the group gave their order to the rather shaken waitress. After all it isn't everyday a king and his entourage come into your restaurant.

 

The kids of course were focusing on the large two dollar milkshakes and all ordered one. Jade and Sunny ordered a stack of blueberry pancakes between them, whilst Nerissa hungrily ordered a large plate of sausage, bacon, eggs, beans, and toast. Momoko avoided anything with mushrooms. Olive and Frisk both wanted bagels to go with their shakes. Chara true to Papyrus's promise had ordered a frosty chocolate milkshake with a double chocolate crepe to go along with it. Asriel just wanted scrambled eggs on toast.

 

All adults then ordered their breakfasts and began talking.

 

“so...” Sans broke the ice, waiting on his dish of grilled sausage and tomatoes. “how did it go?”

 

His question was directed at really no one, but Asgore took a small sip of his chamomile tea before answering. “Better than expected. It helped that your father was there to back our claims.”

 

Gaster thanked him through a mouthful of toast, his form being a lot more stable now that he was out of the Underground.

 

“The human courts have agreed that because the children are under special circumstances, that they should be made wards of the monster community.”

 

“That's wonderful news!” Toriel smiled happily, smiling again when her and her husband's cinnamon caramel pancakes arrived. “That means the children can be adopted by me and yourself if either of us wished.”

 

“Actually...” The king said, his voice laced with doubt. “We won't be adopting them.”

 

The queen looked taken aback and even a little heartbroken when she heard this. “Then who will?”

 

Asgore took a savoury bite out of his pancakes and cleared his throat. “Again because of special circumstances, I pleaded that you or I would be unable to take care of all of the children by ourselves. So I pleaded that all of us be given legal guardianship.”

 

The whole table gasped.

 

Papyrus looked close to fainting into his ham and eggs while Mettaton all but scooped Olive into his waiting arms. Undyne was speechless to have both Nerissa and Momoko hug her tight as Alphys stuttered in shock. Sans spat out the ketchup he was drinking all over his jacket.

 

Chara twirled their fork through the crepe, their face covered in chocolate sauce. “I'm not sharing my room.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this was a little rushed. Just a little update on the gang and their kids. I hope you guys are okay and please leave a little comment or review!


	7. Design

After deciding that they should keep their status of guardianship quite, of course Mettaton would announce it to the whole world.

 

That very night on MTT news (every night from 6:00pm. 7:00pm on weekends), Mettaton excitedly greeted his audience. “HELLO BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! This is Mettaton with your MTT Evening News!”

 

The live audience burst into applause as the brand's jingle played. Mettaton made a show of straightening his papers and brushing his metallic hair out of his eyes.

 

With the jingle over, Mettaton began dramatically. “You may have heard recently of the group of people brought back to life by a Mr Wind Dings Gaster, two of which included Prince Asriel and Princev Chara. Isn't he just a doll folks? A real superhero!”

 

A photo of Gaster appeared on the screen, a runny egg in mouth and looking as if the photographer had burst in on him during breakfast. The audience made wild whooping noises when he appeared.

 

“I know! Handsome devil isn't he? But back to the news.” The robot displayed three photos. One of Asriel, Chara and Frisk. The other depicting the six children, all pulling silly faces at the camera. And the third showing the group of monsters retrieved by Gaster. “It goes without saying that the missing members of the community have found their ways home. And that the three royal children are safely with the King and Queen. But what about our six little darlings? The ones who's souls helped us break free from the Underground?”

 

The audience made a chatter of confusion and concern, Mettaton putting on a mock-worried voice.

 

“But don't worry, my dear listeners! It was decided earlier this morning that these six souls should be made honorary members of the monster community! But who's going to provide for them? Who's going to bring them to school? Who's going to give them MTT-brand merchandise?” He waited until the thought permeated the viewers minds before announcing.

 

“ME OF COURSE! That's right listeners! Myself, the King and Queen, and choice members of the royal posse are now the legal guardians of these little scamps!”

 

The audience went into hysterics, whooping and cheering as a new picture appeared of the gang all with the children, Mettaton holding Olive out in front of him like she was the most wonderful thing in the universe.

 

Mettaton began crying (not pretend) tears of joy and blubbered. “I know, I know! What an honour the King has given me! Let me show you a close up of my little Olive Oil, isn't she just precious?”

 

The photo showed Olive at the diner with her face covered in ice cream and half a doughnut in her mouth. Mettaton's bottom half could be seen sitting next to her.

 

The audience let out a collective “AWW!” and continued clapping.

 

“Am I right or am I right?” He stated proudly. The jingle sounded again, announcing the end of the program. “Oh dear! Looks like that's all the time we have folks! Hope to see you next time on MTT Evening News! Stay classy Surface!”

 

***

 

“ _ **Up next our brand new programme: Parenting 101 with your dear host Mettaton!**_ ”

 

Sans turned off the tv and groaned. “you just had to blab didn't you Metts?”

 

The robot shrugged from his place on the unwrapped chair, boredly popping the plastic bubbles. “I thought we'd get it out of the way. Plus it was either that or a ten minute advertisement for my hotel, which I still intend on doing by the way.”

 

Sans sank back into the bubble-wrapped couch, marvelling at the bare and unfinished sitting room.

 

The first and utmost thing they did that day was seek out a house.

 

It had been relatively easy seeing how Asgore and Toriel could afford almost anywhere (royal privilege plus gold was worth a lot aboveground). They needed a house that could potentially house them plus all of the children, but small enough that it wouldn't be a cavernous mansion.

 

They eventually found one in Old Ebott Town in a small suburb filled with old and even decaying New England style houses. There was a tall blue one with a big wrap-around porch and a Victorian style exterior. It was old. It was a bit cramped. The garden was overgrown. The renovated cellar and attic were spooky. And it obviously hadn't had an owner for at least twenty years.

 

It was perfect.

 

That night they all sat in the dining room on a confusing mix of wooden, plastic and leather chairs around two pushed-together kitchen tables (most of which came from Asgore and Toriel's homes) and ate a hastily put-together vegetable and water sausage stew. Thankfully they had foresight to bring their beds and some sleeping bags so the first night's sleep would go smoothly. Papyrus let the kids all pile into his racecar bed for the night while he took the couch.

 

Sans had initially protested the idea of living with Asgore and Toriel. He could easily find a place elsewhere. But the two had insisted that he, Papyrus and Gaster should stay with them. Both royals had a hundred excuses under their belts.

 

“We both work full time so it would be nice to have somebody at home to watch the children while we're gone.” Toriel had said as she picked out the perfect spot for her bookcase.

 

“You and your family have done so much for us. Let us pay you back the best way we can.” Asgore offered as he pulled ancient weeds out of the overgrown backyard.

 

Sans wasn't convinced until Asriel innocently mentioned as they prepared the vegetable and water sausage stew. “You're like Frisk's other dad right? So are you and Mom and Dad going to stick together?” He looked at the skeleton with worried eyes, aware that situation between his parents wasn't exactly perfect.

 

Sans blushed when he heard the King and Queen shamelessly giggle under their breaths and simply nodded in response. He patted Asriel's head as the young goat monster breathed a sigh of relief. “w _ell who could say no to that?_ ”

 

Room arrangements were a bit chaotic.

 

Asgore and Toriel both took the master bedroom in the middle of the second floor. Sans peaked into the room once it had been fully furnished and saw that the two had in fact a bigger-than-king sized bed. He didn't comment on it but was happy that the two were gradually falling back into a happy union.

 

The kids got first dibs of course. Chara laid claim to the bedroom (it used to be a big storage closet) on the eastern end of the hall as their own, citing that it was small enough that they didn't have to share. The other kids thankfully roomed together without complaint. Asriel and Frisk shared the room across from Chara's. Nerissa and Momoko had taken the smaller bedroom on the third floor. Sunny and Jade both wanted the beautifully decorated room (once a sewing room) at the western end of the hall. And since Tan and Olive were the youngest (with Olive still needing guardrails on her bed) they were put in the room next to the adults (specifically Papyrus and Sans).

 

Sans and Papyrus agreed to sharing the room next to the King and Queen, citing that it would only be temporary until the kids figured out where they would like to sleep. Daily arguments would occur over the cleanliness of the room, specifically Sans' half.

 

Undyne and Alphys shared the third floor/attic master bedroom. The fish woman was excited to have a balcony overlooking the backyard where she could dramatically leap from and land perfectly into the large cherry blossom tree overtaking the centre of the garden. Alphys had found a cubbyhole in the attic and immediately renovated it into a little anime theatre with overstuffed beanbag chairs, a small tv and a disc player. The kids often used it when they had a bad day.

 

Since Mettaton would be travelling and working a lot, it was decided that he'd have the small guest room put aside for him whenever he visited. Needless to say it was the most fabulously decorated room in the house.

 

Gaster quickly took the renovated basement as his domain. A bedroom had been built in to it by the construction company and was connected to the half-upstairs utility room (or the science room as he called it) where he had a direct door to the kitchen. There was a small mix up at one point when he put the laundry into one of his machines by accident and they fused together into an ugly towel-dress-bedsheet abomination, but that's what fire extinguishers are for.

 

And finally Toby the Annoying Dog got his own little doggy bed in the sunroom.

 

Now all they had to do was to decorate.

 

***

 

Sans didn't like shopping that much. It was loud, crowded, overstimulating, and if you didn't have a list you'd buy a hundred things you didn't need.

 

So when it turned out that human shopping centres were that and more, he reluctantly went along to find new furniture for the house and stuff for the kids. Thankfully Mettaton and Papyrus had insisted on taking the kids clothes and toy shopping so the others could do their own tasks in peace. Gaster had decided to stay at home, not-so-sneakily wanting to sneak out of the house and chat with the neighbours.

 

Toriel went to get the school supplies and books, Asgore went to get gardening equipment, Undyne and Alphys went to pick up furniture that they had ordered through a catalogue, which left Sans with the task of picking up the kids' prescriptions from the pharmacy.

 

The skeleton frowned when he realised that no one was assigned the task of groceries. Then again they didn't exactly have a fridge yet so he supposed that they could only buy what could be readily made. It didn't help that after all this shopping that they'd be too exhausted to cook.

 

Maybe afterwards they could get a take-away.

 

The pharmacy recommended by the hospital was about a block away from the mega-mall where the others were, so Sans took his sweet time walking over, knowing that the others would take hours to be done.

 

The inside was sterile and accented with mint green decorations, the wall to wall shelves were covered floor to ceiling in medicines and remedies of all types.

 

Sans thanked himself for taking a list.

 

He passed the small stack of prescriptions to the confused chemist, explaining simply that he had a large family. As he waited, he noticed that the only other people there was a middle-age woman and two children, one a little under being a teen and the other about Frisk's age. He wouldn't have cared if not for the fact that the bigger kid was screaming into his mother's face for sweets and the smaller one looked close to falling over.

 

The three came up to the counter and waited for someone to ring up their aspirin and vitamin A. The mother shot a sharp glare at the skeleton and he gave her an understanding smile, it probably wasn't easily having two sick kids.

 

“flu?” He asked sympathetically, hoping to quell the tense atmosphere.

 

The woman answered curtly before shoving a candy bar in her elder son's face. “Measles actually.”

 

“jesus, got to be hard. 'specially if you couldn't get the jab.”

 

“No. We choose not to. Vaccination causes so many complications and I will never let _**my**_ children have one.” She said the last part with an unmistakable venom, as if protecting your kid against measles and the mumps was somehow a crime.

 

Sans was dumbfounded but gave her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she had family who had a bad reaction or didn't have a good time. “i mean sure there's rare cases of allergic reactions but i figure it's safer to risk than letting my kids get a potentially fatal disease.”

 

The woman looked scandalised by this and all but yelled at him. “Don't you know vaccinations cause autism!? Don't you monsters know _**anything**_?”

 

The skeleton blinked and decided right then and there that he didn't like this woman. Rubbing the bridge of his skull, he explained. “that's not how it works. autism is just what someone's born with. i should know, i got a brother and a kid with it.”

 

“And were they vaccinated?” She asked, as if it would strengthen her case.

 

“my kid is but-”

 

“There you go! Dr Andrew Wakefield discovered that the MMR causes it, all the toxins and mercury in the vaccine damages their developing bodies and turns them into invalids!”

 

Okay now he REALLY didn't like this woman.

 

He breathed in deeply before replying at breakneck speed. “my kid was autistic before they were vaccinated, it didn't magically appear afterwards. i'm here 'cus they along with my other kids had to go to the doctors to get that crap checked out. one of my kids almost died when he was little 'cus of measles and it messed his health up pretty badly. and Wakefield's studies were proven false because they had no scientific backing and the medical community have proven him to be a fraud time and time again. also “invalid”? lady what time period are you from where that's an acceptable term?”

 

“Sir, your prescriptions are finished.” The chemist broke his rant, handing over multiple paper bags all labelled for a different person.

 

“thanks.” He said to the chemist, handing her the money and ignoring the indignant sputters the woman next to him made.

 

“What do you even know?” The woman was red faced and her children were slinking away from her, aware of an imminent explosion. “You're a damn skeleton! You're not even alive!”

 

“i'm a skeleton with a phd. and i'm smart enough not to believe every facebook post i read.” Before he left he asked the woman a question. “even if what you say is true, no matter how freaking wrong it is, why would you honestly want a dead kid over an autistic one?”

 

The woman didn't have an answer, but her kids seemed to have horrified looks of realisation on their faces.

 

Sans left the pharmacy in a sour mood. Seriously how does the Surface survive with people like her spreading lies like that? Oh well at least he would never have to deal with her again.

 

Hopefully.

 

***

 

“Hmm. I think a sea foam might look the best dear.” Mettaton offered, looking over the selection in front of him.

 

“PERHAPS A LIGHT PERIWINKLE WOULD BE NICE?” Papyrus added. “OR A PERSIAN BLUE?”

 

“That would work too! Contrast it with a complementary colour and make it a theme.” Mettaton agreed, having a wonderful time choosing out clothes for the kids.

 

“Guys it's a nightgown.” Nerissa said flatly holding up two very old fashioned nightgowns, both in different shades of blue. The lighter one had a floral design while the other had what appeared to be a pattern of eggplants going across it. “I want to know if I should get both.”

 

“Hmm.” The robot hummed, slightly disappointed that the girl wasn't as interested in fashion. “Well seeing how you don't have any at home, you could get another in a lighter shade so you can wear them on different days of the week.”

 

Nerissa nodded and took a sea foam coloured one decorated with multicoloured fish, deciding to continue her search for a nice pair of slippers.

 

“Pap! Pap! Uncle Metts!” Tan excitedly ran over, carrying a mountain of clothes in his arms. “What do you think of this?”

 

He held up a white t-shirt with a bright 80s style logo on the front, and beneath it a dark skirt with a a subtle rainbow star pattern. It seemed that he had absorbed both of their fashion styles.

 

“Darling that's just wonderful!” Mettaton praised, quickly checking the sizes on them to make sure that they would fit. “These would be a wonderful addition to your wardrobe!”

 

Tan blushed under the praise, seemingly unused to it. He had already shown them three other sets of clothing that he wanted and still they thought he dressed wonderfully.

 

“DID YOU THINK ABOUT FORMAL CLOTHES?” Papyrus asked, having to remind all of the children to find something for a fancy occasion.

 

“Yep!” The boy replied, pulling a simple black pinafore out of the pile, along with pastel space-themed shirt and tights whose colours began with a soft orange at the neck and slowly transitioned downwards to a deep midnight blue at the feet.

 

“WELL THEN, IT SEEMS THAT YOU'RE READY FOR ANYTHING! MAKE SURE TO FIND SOME SHOES TO MATCH AND WE'LL GO AND PAY!”

 

“Yes Pap!” Tan nodded, running off to the shoe section, leaving his clothes pile with the two adults. The two sighed happily, glad that they had such a fashion-conscience son.

 

A woman trying on shoes next to them coughed, trying to getting their attention.

 

Turning, Mettaton asked sweetly. “Hello! Do you need any fashion advice as well?”

 

The woman was in her late thirties and was wearing an off-white blouse and a black pencil skirt, neither of which suited her. She had an odd hairstyle that was neatly coiffed at the front and left wild at the back with thick highlights. She was looking at them with an expression that could only be read as confusion.

 

“Wasn't that a boy?” She asked, multiple opened boxes scattered at her feet. “Why did you just let him get a dress?”

 

The two monsters were confused by this question. There was only one real answer. “Because he wanted them darling! I can't help if my boy is fashion-conscience from an early age.”

 

“Yours?” The woman continued to ask, not taking in the previous answer. “But aren't you like... ya'know monsters? And you're both men so how can you have a _normal_ kid?”

 

Papyrus looked a bit unnerved by the woman's words but provided. “HE IS ADOPTED. WE TOOK HIM IN ONLY RECENTLY SO WE'RE GETTING HIM AND THE OTHERS SOME NEW CLOTHES.”

 

The woman relaxed at this statement and said cheerfully, as if it were common knowledge. “Oh! You mean he's not your _real_ son! I should have known! No _real_ parent would let their son parade around in _girls_ clothes like that!”

 

She laughed haughtily like she had made a devastatingly witty comment.

 

Papyrus shifted in his seat, looking very upset with himself. He had been trying so hard to be a good parent and now he just learnt that he was doing it wrong?

 

Mettaton instantly picked up on the skeleton's mood and shot back at the woman. “No **real** parent would laugh at a child for dressing how they want! No **real** parent would interrogate others on whether or not their child was born from them! No **real** parent would wear a polyester blouse with a corduroy skirt! Now go away, your drabness is boring me.” He then turned his nose up at her and looked on to where the kids were busy finding their shoes.

 

The woman huffed looking very red in the face, and stamped away in ill-fitted high heels, soon joined by a pair of equally drab looking children.

 

After she was barely out of earshot, the robot yawned deeply. “What a positively boring and rude woman! What nerve to just say that and... Papy darling are you okay?” His voice softened as he noticed that the skeleton was quietly weeping into his gloved hands.

 

Papyrus looked up at the robot and asked in a sad tone. “Am I a good parent?”

 

Mettaton was taken aback by this question and asked in turn. “Paps, why do you need to ask? Is it because of that horrible woman? Because I doubt she's intelligent enough to recognise how good you are.”

 

“I KNOW IT'S JUST... AM I DOING THIS RIGHT? IS IT REALLY WRONG TO LET HIM WEAR WHAT HE WANTS OR BRING HIM OUT FOR ICE CREAM ALL THE TIME? WOULD HE EVEN WANT A TREEHOUSE IN THE BACKYARD? HE CALLS ME PAP AND I'M NOT SURE IF THAT MEANS HE SEES ME AS HIS FATHER OR AS HIS BIG BROTHER OR-”

 

His ramble was silenced by Mettaton's metallic hand stroking the side of his face.

 

“Darling, Tan loves you to bits. That's something very few parents can say and mean it.”

 

Papyrus stuttered, his mood brighting tremendously. “R-REALLY? I'M NOT COMPLETELY SCREWING IT UP?”

 

“No dear. I think you're doing just fine.” He placed a sweet kiss on the skeleton's forehead, giggling when he blushed a vibrant orange colour in response.

 

The kids all ran up to them, arms full of everything from school clothes to day clothes to night clothes. Whipping out his credit card, Mettaton corralled them to the nearest payment desk, leaving the poor cashier shocked as she counted up the tremendous price.

 

***

 

“Okay so, ten singles and three king sized or larger, right?” Undyne rehearsed, finally getting to the front of the line. They'd had to wait behind a large group people arguing the return of a minor piece of furniture who's worth was probably less than the time they had wasted. “And a large dining room set and a set of kitchen stuff?”

 

“That's the abbreviated v-version yes.” Alphys confirmed, staring between their ticket number and the list they printed out. “W-we'll also need to pick up curtains and bedsheets from the fabric store, but I think the kids w-would like to choose them out.”

 

“ **Number 407 is now ready.** ” the intercom called out in it's robotic voice.

 

“Oh hey 407 is us!” Undyne exclaimed, rushing to the counter only to be harshly shoved away by a mountain of a man. “Hey! Watch yourself!”

 

“Hush up missy, my business is worth more than any dollies you ordered.” The man, Number 408 it said on his ticket, growled in a very put-on country accent. He was middle age with greying hair and a moustache that looked more like a slug got stuck to his upper lip. He wore a massive cowboy hat and almost looked like a cartoon of a Texan ranch owner. He then began shouting at the cashier. “Where's that damn motor I ordered? I've been waiting all day for it to come in!”

 

The cashier replied in a tired yet mousey voice. “Sir, we talked over the phone and your motor will not be in the store until at least Friday. Now if you excuse me I'm supposed to be serving these young ladies.” He gestured to the two monster women and turned to apologise to them. “I'm sorry for the inconvenience ladies, your furniture order came in earlier this afternoon. Do you need assistance carrying them all?”

 

Alphys answered quickly, just wanting to be away from the terribly impatient man. “N-no thank you, we can manage.”

 

“Now wait just a goddamn minute! I'm sitting here all day waiting on my lawnmower motor and these trumped up dinosaurs get served before me? This is discrimination!” The man continued to shout, flecks of tobacco-scented spittle staining the counter.

 

“What did you call us punk!?” Undyne went into a battle stance, pondering on whether or not Fighting was an acceptable form of settling disputes on the Surface. “You can live without a lawnmower buddy! We're here for our beds and kitchen stuff!”

 

“Why didn't cha just get your husbands to get it?” The man sneered as boxes beyond boxes of furniture began stacking up on the counter. “I doubt you ladies could life a single box of that.”

 

“OH YEAH!?” The woman challenged, using her immense strength to hoist at least ten of the boxes onto her shoulders. She would have added more if not for the stack already reaching the ceiling. Oh well that's what hands are for! “You just said that to Captain of the Royal Guard punk! Alphy sweetheart get the door, my arms are full!”

 

“O-okay Undyne!” Alphys blushed, running over to hold the store's door open. She then looked back at the man and said sharply. “I hope you f-fix your mower but me and my g-girlfriend need our furniture more.”

 

The man began sputtering as he heard the last sentence, all but spitting curse words at the two women as they left the store.

 

“What an impatient jerk!” Undyne said loudly as they made their way to the centre plaza where they and the others had agreed to meet up afterwards. “Are all humans so pushy or we're we just unlucky?”

 

Alphys nodded and waved over to Sans, who was sitting by the large fountain in the centre of the plaza. “I know! And all that f-fuss over a grass-cutting tool. A s-scythe would've done the job faster than it took him to complain.”

 

When they approached Sans they noticed that he looked fairly tired and even a little peeved off. Undyne asked playfully. “How was your encounter?”

 

The skeleton groaned before answering. “some lady i made small talk with at the pharm went off on me about the evils of vaccinating your kids.”

 

“Heh. We had some jerk call us dinosaurs and say that women can't carry boxes.”

 

“Wh-which you should probably stop doing, seeing h-how you don't have to prove anything now.” The smaller woman urged, fearful that the pile may just topple over.

 

“Nah! I'm starting to get used to it! Plus I need to demonstrate to anyone else wanting to pull that kinda stunt.” Blue magic surrounded the stack and Undyne made a disappointed noise when they were carefully lifted and set down by her feet. “Aww! You're no fun Sans.”

 

The skeleton shrugged, his left eye glowing blue. “i try my best. oh hey Paps, Metts and the kids are done.” He waved lazily over to the approaching group.

 

Mettaton was the first to reach them, at least five large bags of clothes hanging off his arms. “We're finished~! It took us a while to choose everything out but thank heavens Pap was able to help.”

 

Papyrus was still blushing a fainter shade of orange. “WHY THANK YOU METTATON! YOU WERE ALSO VERY GOOD, ESPECIALLY WHEN THAT RUDE WOMAN WAS LAUGHING AT US.”

 

“rude woman?” Sans asked, suddenly afraid. He just hoped that they hadn't run into Mrs Measles like he had. “what was she like?”

 

“Hmm. Skinny, brunette, rude of course, terrible sense of fashion, had two children I believe were both girls?” Mettaton recalled, sitting daintily on the side of the fountain.

 

Sans breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that. His bad encounter was blond with two boys. “phew. i ran into a piece of work earlier too.”

 

“Say no more! No negativity will stop us from having a nice day of shopping. Now shouldn't we be getting the decorations, like wallpaper and curtains and all that?” The robot said, metaphorically erasing the bad encounter from his mind.

 

“W-we should probably wait for Asgore and Toriel b-before we go.” Alphys answered quickly, knowing that her friend would likely decorate the whole house if she let him. “I think they're still getting the school stuff.”

 

***

 

“Hmm.” The Queen hummed in thought, staring at the line of textbooks in front of her. All of them were fairly pricey and she was trying to careful. “Was it Sunny or Chara who wanted Advanced Mathematics?”

 

The King answered flawlessly, holding a bag of packaged seeds and saplings. “Chara did. Sunny mentioned that he doesn't enjoy math. Him and Asriel both wanted the ones on home economics. And Jade wanted History.”

 

“Thank you.” Toriel sighed, the day being very taxing on her. She had spent a good portion of an hour convincing the store owner that yes she was in fact both a teacher and a mother of a large family, and yes she needed all of those books. “And Nerissa wanted the one for Metal Shop.”

 

As she reached for the Math book, another hand met her halfway.

 

It belonged to a very bookish looking man, standing there with his own stack of books. Beside him was presumably his wife, two small books on cooking and gardening in her hands. The couple laughed and the man introduced himself.

 

“Sorry, Professor Bradley Green, I'm the English teacher at North Ebott High.” The man said proudly. He was tall and thin with thinning brown hair, and was wearing a dated tweed suit and bow tie. He rounded off his introduction when the woman next to him elbowed him lightly. “And this is my wife Sharon.”

 

“It's so nice to meet you!” The woman, now Sharon, greeted excitedly as she held the books close to her chest. She was fairly short and plump with her curly hair tied into a messy bun, she wore a long red and white polka dot dress with a belt around the waist. “I never thought I'd see actual monsters in our little town!”

 

Toriel and Asgore laughed lightly, realising that her comment was fairly innocent. The Queen greeted her back. “I am Toriel and likewise. Me and my family have recently moved into Old Ebott Town and we have found it very accommodating.”

 

Sharon brightened up even more when she saw the variety of school books in the goat monster's hands. “That's wonderful, we live in that area too! Are you enrolling your kids here as well?”

 

“Oh yes! We have nine of them so we have our work cut out for us.” She laughed, enjoying the human woman's sunny deposition.

 

“Nine?” Sharon asked, her eyes widened. “And I though our Ryan was a handful!”

 

“You monsters work fast.” Bradley commented suggestively, wriggling his eyebrows. He then noticed the teacher's manual in her hands and asked the King. “What grade do you teach?”

 

Asgore blinked confusedly, realising that he had just been asked. Waving his hand awkwardly he explained. “Oh no no no! I'm more of a gardener. My wife is a certified teacher.”

 

This seemed to upset the human man, who turned up his nose and said dismissively. “Kindergarten then.”

 

The two monsters opinion of this Professor Greene immediately soured. The Queen explained in a stern voice. “Actually I've found a position in Mt Ebott Elementary as a History and Science teacher. I was also wondering why, if you are an English teacher why are you buying a Teacher's guide for Mathematics?” She pointed to a specific book in the pile, hoping to change the direction of the conversation.

 

“Oh!” Bradley's attention shifted and he seemed almost pleasant again. “I home school our boy. We're waiting until second grade until we enrol him properly.”

 

Sharon frowned, looking at her home economics books sadly. “I thought we finished home schooling him this year. We agreed to send him to Mt Ebott Elementary months ago, Remember?”

 

The man sighed and said in an annoyed tone. “No Sharon. We agreed that since you ruined the time schedule last year we have to revise.”

 

The two monsters felt very uncomfortable, realising that the human couple were seconds away from a public spat. The human couple stared at each other with looks that could only be described as hate.

 

“Ruined?” The woman asked angrily, trying her best to make herself look tall. “I taught him how to cook and sew! Those are skills everyone needs to have. It isn't like he's going to forget math just because he knows how make French toast!”

 

“What use would he have for it? No boy is going to want to bake and keep a garden! What are you trying to do Sharon; turn him into a freaking _girl_?” He all but shouted at his wife, with a swaggering confidence that what he was saying was true.

 

Asgore then decided that he didn't very much care for this Professor Greene. He spoke up. “Actually. I happen to think you wife's teachings will be _very_ useful for him. My own mother taught me how to cook, and sew, and garden, even as she ran the Underground. I also hope to pass such knowledge onto my own son.”

 

Bradley sneered, causing his wife's smile to falter. “Fine. I see who wears the pants in _**your**_ relationship. I'll bet she fixes the car while you stay at home and cook?”

 

“No. Our friends Alphys and Sans do. She's a mechanical engineer and scientist, and he takes care of the children while we're working.” Asgore explained sternly, empathising the pronouns. “Gender is not a guide for which jobs one is allowed.”

 

The human man looked like he had sucked on a lemon and simply began walking away. Muttering under his breath, the monsters could pick up. “Monsters... teaching kids like that... Gonna ruin this country I tell you.”

 

Sharon looked very anxious and apologised. “I'm so sorry, he hates losing arguments. I guess I should just put these back..” She stared at her books forlornly, about to return them to their shelves when Toriel suggested.

 

“Even if your son is going to be home schooled another year, do you think he would still enjoy learning more on cooking and gardening?”

 

The human woman stopped dead in her tracks as if she had never entertained such a thought. Quietly she answered. “...He really enjoys cooking. He says he likes how he can make so many things with so many different ingredients.”

 

Toriel smiled warmly, hoping to raise the woman's self esteem. “There you go! You're obviously a great teacher, and it would help if you had the reading material to continue his studies.”

 

Sharon smiled sheepishly and said. “Maybe I should. I bet he gets bored of those fuddy duddy math books all the time. Bradley doesn't have to know.” She brightened again and said confidently. “If my boy wants to learn, I'll teach him! Thank you for the pep talk.”

 

The two nodded, Asgore ending their conversation with. “And if you ever need anything, me and my wife are always there.”

 

“I will, and again thank you.” She said goodbye and quickly walked to the cashier and bought her books, ignoring the disgusted look her husband sent her.

 

Asgore and Toriel sighed tiredly. They hoped not all of their neighbours had such problems.

 

Turning back to the shelf, Toriel hummed in thought. “Oh dear, now I've forgotten. Which child wanted Advanced Mathematics? Was it Chara or Sunny again?”

 

“Chara.” Asgore remembered, trying to shake off the encounter. “Sunny doesn't enjoy maths.”

 

***

 

“you too?” Sans asked sympathetically, as the King and Queen finally rejoined the group. Undyne was lying lazily on the bench, her feet resting on what may have been the new fridge. Papyrus seemed to be busying himself by looking up things on his phone.

 

“Yes.” Toriel admitted tiredly, holding a heavy bag of books. “Did you find everything you needed?”

 

The skeleton nodded, showing the pharmacy bags. “got everything. Mettaton and Alphys ran off with the kids to pick out bedsheets.”

 

“ARE YOU OKAY YOUR MAJESTYS? YOU BOTH LOOK RATHER RATTLED.” Papyrus asked, looking up from his phone.

 

Asgore shook his head and replied. “No worries Papyrus. It has just been a long day.”

 

Undyne perked up and began waving to Alphys who, along with Mettaton and the children, were finished finding the last few pieces for the house. The kids were all falling against either adults' side, tired out from the exciting day.

 

“Ready to go darlings?” the robot asked the group, looking fairly tired himself.

 

The group wordlessly picked everything up and some how were able to get it all home in one piece. As they reached the front door, none of them could think about what to cook.

 

Which why they were glad that Gaster had ordered pizza ahead of time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little update on the gang as they begin their lives living in suburbia. Please leave a review and I hope to see you soon!


	8. Awake

That evening had been spent unloading furniture, organising bedrooms, applying wallpaper and carpet, and to reward themselves for a hard day's work; a gigantic order of pizza. As it turned out, Sans had texted his father earlier about the lack of groceries, so Gaster got it into his head to place a very large pizza order just before they came home.

 

The pizza took about thirty minutes to arrive and by that point, Alphys had already finished installing the kitchen cabinets and Chara's room was almost complete. Seeing how the others were very busy, Sans got up from the couch and answered the door. Money at the ready, he was genuinely surprised to see who was there.

 

“Now that's one large sea-meat feast, one veggie special with no mushrooms and-”

 

“Burgerpants?”

 

The cat monster's tired eyes widened when he saw the skeleton, one arm balancing the order and the other trying to punch in the cost. He was wearing a simple red shirt and brown pants combo with the insignia of a local pizza chain stitched into his shirt pocket. “Oh hey! Your Sans right? You used to do an act back at the resort. That means... oh god Mettaton isn't here is he?” His expression became paranoid and his gaze shifted to peer into the main hall of the house.

 

“if by here you mean; upstairs arguing with himself over what colour to paint the guest room then yes.”

 

“Heh. At least he has an outlet.” Burgerpants chuckled nervously as he finished punching in the order. “Okay, that will be about... uh...1230G for all of it? Man human money is so weird to count up.”

 

Sans nodded and handed over the cash, barely able to see over the tall stack of cheesy goodness in his hands. “how's the surface been treating ya so far? i thought you'd been seeing the world by now.”

 

Burgerpants counted out the change and explained. “Seeing the world costs money. Money which I (let's be real here) do not have. Mettaton has me do basic crew work whenever he's on air but I keep this job to fill in time between shows.”

 

“two jobs? that's pretty admirable 'Pants. they treating you better than the ol' burger joint?”

 

The cat monster hesitated before answering. “Well... To be honest the stage crew stuff is alright, I'm finally getting taste of my end goal you know? But the whole delivery guy thing really depends on the customers. One house I could be tipped ten bucks, the other I have some rat-dog thing chase me into my car and the owners threaten to sue me for “emotional distress”. At least at the Burger Emporium I could **deal** with the customers. Sometimes I actually kinda _**miss**_ working for Mettaton. Can you BELIEVE that!?” He laughed at the absurdity of it all.

 

“Oh Burgerpants darling! If you wanted a full time job with the show you could have just asked!”

 

Burgerpants froze as Mettaton gracefully slid down the bannister of the stairs, his metal frame covered in (artistically placed) smudges of paint and wallpaper glue. Olive and Tan quickly followed after him, smelling the pizza.

 

“Wow! You're the cat guy Metts talks about all the time!” Tan exclaimed upon seeing the delivery man, his own dungarees splattered with red paint. “He says you're good at “dealing with stressful environments” and “would make a fab-tacular co-star for the live tour”.”

 

“I... I...” The cat monster choked on his words, unsure if he should feel annoyed or ecstatic about this situation.

 

“i'll leave you two to discuss work contracts.” Sans said, leaving the two other monsters to talk as he brought the food into the now half-furnished dining room. “guys! grub is here!”

 

“WOO!” a voice yelled, the sound of someone leaping from the third storey staircase and landing on the ground floor identified it as coming from Undyne. “Prawn and tempura pizza come to me!”

 

“AHH! MY FAVOURITE FLAVOUR!” Papyrus exclaimed happily, opening up a small box to reveal a pizza that was covered in thick marinara sauce and cheese, but also seemed to have a crust made from fried noodles. “SPAGHETTI!”

 

Gaster appeared to ooze out of the utility room, beckoned by the noises. “I knew you'd like it. I talked with the neighbours about good eateries in the area and they said that the local pizza restaurant catered to monsters.”

 

“I can definitely see that.” Frisk remarked, looking over the side orders of breaded snails and pumpkin rings. They gasped when Gaster showed them a small paper box full of fried potato pieces. “Fry bits! Love you Gramp-ster!”

 

Gaster paused upon reading the nickname. Taking a minute or two of deep thought he then laughed warmly in his distorted voice. “Oh I see! Grampa and Gaster, very clever little one.”

 

Sans had to smile. His dad was always a lover of puns, even if it took him a moment to decipher them. It took him even longer to think them up, but it had taught Sans a good lesson in quality over quantity. Once one of his father's slow-cooked puns actually caused a small wave of CORE scientists to collapse into hysterics and cause a number of minor accidents around the plant.

 

Mettaton returned moments later, looking particularly proud of himself. “Well Burgerpants is signed on for the next live tour. Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with him.” He trailed off in thought before noticing the spread before him. “Ooo~! Fry bits!”

 

With that the large family began tearing into the food. All taking at least a large slice for themselves with a glass of CrabApple juice. Toby the Dog laid under the dining table, taking the opportunity to beg pieces of prawn and snails off anyone who peaked under. Asgore got some toppings stuck in his beard and everyone had a laugh when Toby became bold enough to jump up and try to run off with it. It was then decided from then on that he'd be kept in the kitchen during future meal times.

 

After such a hearty meal, the leftovers were put away as the first items to ever grace the newly installed fridge while the dishes were the first things ever washed and put away in the new cabinets.

 

Now with everyone full and sleepy, the adults quickly finished the bedrooms and mutually decided to do the rest of the house in the morning.

 

But for now. Time for sleep.

 

***

 

It had been barely an hour into sleep when Papyrus was jolted awake by a faint noise. This wasn't surprising. He had always been the lightest of sleepers, to the point where his childhood bedtimes were often as short as naps.

 

But right now something was very wrong.

 

Papyrus scanned the dim room and confirmed that it wasn't there. Sans was snoring but that certainly wasn't a surprise. And the rain outside was far too faint to be of any bother. No, this sound appeared to be coming from the next room. Placing a metaphorical ear against the wall, Papyrus was able to hear the sound more clearly.

 

Within seconds he immediately sprung from his bed and as quietly as he could, ran to Tan and Olive's room. As he reached the brightly decorated door his heart pounded in his ribcage, the sound a lot more clearer. With his hand trembling, he turned the knob and peered inside, afraid that something horrible was on the other side.

 

There was nothing there.

 

The room was dimly lit with a yellow-orange night light and toys could be seen scattered across the road-patterned rug. Papyrus breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the children were all right. Tan was fast asleep in his own bright red racecar bed (he almost exploded with joy upon seeing it) and Olive was neatly tucked under her farm-themed blankets. Toby the Dog had some how snuck into the room to sleep at the foot of Tan's bed and inquisitively stared at the skeleton with sleepy eyes.

 

Papyrus stared back at the dog with an annoyed look. “ _Of course. The dog must have been whining._ ” He was about to return to his room and maybe get a few more hours of sleep, when the noise started up again.

 

It wasn't Toby.

 

His gaze immediately fixated on Olive, quietly trashing around in her sleep and knocking fluffy plush toys off her bed. Papyrus' heart dropped further when upon closer inspection, he could see that she was crying.

 

His mind rushed with a hundred things at once. “ _Does her burns hurt? Is she too warm? Does she need a glass of water? Is she having a nightmare? Should I wake up Mettaton? He's so much better at this. Oh but he's just powered off, I can't wake him up even if I wanted._ ”

 

Swallowing a lump in his throat, he carefully tip-toed around the room and finally reached her bed. By now her arms were flailing around violently, rubbing her face and hair roughly like she was being enveloped by something. Each flail would be punctuated by a painful squeak and then she'd curl in on herself like a puppy.

 

Without thinking, Papyrus scooped her into his arms and concluded that it was in fact a nightmare. During his panic, he remembered what he'd do for Sans when he ever had nightmares.

 

“Don't worry. It's not real. It's just a dream. Please wake up.” he pleaded softly, not wanting to wake the whole house up. “You're fine. I'm here.”

 

After a moment, Olive's eyes fluttered open to look at the skeleton with a look that could only be terror. “Mmmm!” She held her mouth tightly shut, as if she was afraid of her cries waking anyone up. “Aaaaah _ **HIC**_!” she tried to cover her mouth as her cries came out in a series of wet hiccups. Her free hand gripping the skeleton's shirt as if it were her only lifeline.

 

“There there...” Papyrus soothed, holding her closer to his chest. He ran a green-magic tinged hand over her back, just in case she had lost any HP during the night. “I'm here. I'm here...”

 

Olive didn't respond. Her face was now buried into Papyrus' nightshirt, still cry-hiccuping her lungs out. “ _Hic!_ Hurts...”

 

“WHAT HURTS?” He asked worriedly, still trying to keep his voice down.

 

“Fi- _hic_! Fire hurts.” She said, muffled by the shirt.

 

“YOU MEAN YOUR BURNS? DO YOU NEED YOUR BANDAGES CHANGED?”

 

She shook her head and tried to explain the best she could. “ _hic!_ Fire fire ground fire hurts _hic!_ too much. Steam too _hic!_ hot. No more water. Fall _hic!_ down and can't get back _hic!_ up.”

 

“OH.” Papyrus could only answer, the sparse details telling him everything. Without question he left the room, Olive still in his arms, and made his way down into the kitchen. Toby followed him shortly after, taking on one step at a time.

 

The light turned on with a loud click. The kitchen was still bare, the counters completely uncluttered, and the walls unpainted. The windows were streaked with water as the rain picked up outside. As Papyrus retrieved a plastic cup from one of the cupboards he could hear the faint sound of his father's heavy snoring coming from the basement bedroom. He needn't worry however, as Gaster could rival Sans in laziness and in the past had slept through snowstorms.

 

Papyrus let the tap run for a few seconds before filling the cup with ice cold water. Holding it up to Olive, he was glad that she began taking small infrequent sips of water. He setted her on the counter as he retrieved a small first aid kit from under the sink, pulling out bandages and a small tube of ointment meant to soothe burns. He warned her before continuing. “I'M GOING TO CHANGE YOUR BANDAGES. IT WILL HURT A SMALL BIT BUT I WILL TRY MY BEST.”

 

She nodded and bit down on the cup when he slowly removed the old bandages. They had been last changed shortly before dinner and the burns would still take quite a long while to heal. Papyrus quickly applied the ointment and fresh bandages, his healer training (provided by his brother and others in the Royal Guard) obviously paying off.

 

After each burn was properly treated and wrapped, he asked. “ARE YOU FEELING BETTER NOW OLIVE?”

 

“Hmm.” Was her response, her mouth clasped around the rim of the cup as she absent-mindedly chewed on it. She gave another, less powerful hiccup and confirmed. “Lots better.”

 

“TRULY? BECAUSE YOU NEED NOT LIE TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS.” The skeleton urged, not wanting to send her to back to bed with her problem unresolved. After thinking for a moment he asked. “WHAT DID YOUR FAMILY USED TO DO WHEN YOU HAD NIGHTMARES IN THE PAST?”

 

She answered bluntly. “No-thing.”

 

Papyrus' heart sank even further. “YOU KNOW...” He began, causing her to look up at him with curious eyes. “WHEN I USED TO HAVE NIGHTMARES MY BROTHER WOULD READ A STORY TO ME. ALWAYS SOMETHING LIGHT AND HAPPY. AND WHEN HE STARTED HAVING NIGHTMARES I DID THE SAME FOR HIM.”

 

“You have nightmares?” Olive asked with genuine surprise.

 

“LOTS! FOR ME THEY WERE ABOUT BEING ALONE IN SNOWDIN FOREST AT NIGHT WHEN THE SNOW IS AT IT'S THICKEST. FOR SANS... I BELIEVE IT WAS THE SAME BUT FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.” Papyrus confirmed, hoping to lighten the mood. “I ALSO USED TO BELIEVE THAT THE TOOTH FAIRY WOULD STEAL MY BONES.”

 

Olive began giggling, a small hiccup escaping her mouth. “Why?”

 

“BECAUSE SHE TAKES TEETH AND LEAVES YOU MONEY. THAT SOUNDS LIKE BLACK MARKETEERING IF YOU ASK ME.” He playfully nuzzled her forehead and smiled when she did the same. “HOW WAS I SUPPOSE TO KNOW THAT ALL MY OTHER BONES WERE OFF LIMITS?”

 

“Nyehe hehe!” She laughed in her tired voice, leaning her head against his chest. “Nyehe hehe nyehe...”

 

They stood there quietly for a moment. The light above them buzzed with the minimal light it gave off and Gaster's snoring increased as cicadas chirped in the shallow ornamental pond outside. Toby the Dog finally reached the kitchen and unceremoniously lapped at the water in his dish before lying on the rug in front of the back door.

 

“Want to go to bed now...” Olive mumbled sleepily, her eyes drooping.

 

Papyrus smiled and took her into his arms and began making the ascension up the stairs, wondering what story he should read to her. Toby gave a doggy huff of annoyance as he followed after the pair hoping that they'd make up their minds and just go to sleep already.

 

After carefully making it across the sea of toys, Olive was again tucked under her covers and surrounded by plush toys. She stared up at the skeleton with anticipation as he choose a book from the room's low bookcase. His hand fell upon a familiar title and sat at the end of her bed, reciting as quietly and as clearly as he could.

 

“ALICE WAS BEGINNING TO GET VERY TIRED OF SITTING BY HER SISTER ON THE BANK, AND OF HAVING NOTHING TO DO: ONCE OR TWICE SHE HAD PEEPED INTO THE BOOK HER SISTER WAS READING, BUT IT HAD NO PICTURES OR CONVERSATIONS IN IT.” Papyrus began, realising that Tan was now sneekily pretending to be asleep. Sending the boy a knowing smirk he continued. “AND WHAT IS THE USE OF A BOOK,' THOUGHT ALICE `WITHOUT PICTURES OR CONVERSATION?”

 

Toby the Dog seemed to agree and made a _boof_ sound when he flopped down onto the rug, staring intensely up at the skeleton as he contiuned the tale.

 

***

 

It was about two hours later when Undyne tossed and turned in her bed.

 

“ _Alright something is up_.” She thought as she raised herself from the bed, taking care not to rouse Alphys as the lizard monster slept quitely. The brewing storm outside had already caused the royal scientist to awake twice during the night and Undyne didn't wish to disturb her even further.

 

The thrid storey/attic was fairly spacious. Holding two bedrooms, a simple washroom, a linen closet, and many cubbyholes; sound travelled slowly. As she exited the room into the corridor, Undyne determined that the uneasy feeling was coming from the kids' room.

 

Undyne immediately felt an unfamiliar sense of dread. She burst into the room and was relieved to see Nerissa sitting up in her sea-themed bed and staring blankly at the door as Momoko hid under his space-themed covers.

 

The fish woman breathed a sigh of relief and said to particularly no one. “Jeez, I almost gave myself a heart attack there. Fuhuhu...” She tried to lighten the mood, still unnerved as the kids didn't seem to respond.

 

“I think Momoko wet the bed.” Nerissa said bluntly, turning her gaze to the boy as he tried to retreat further under his blankets.

 

Undyne shrugged and made her way over to Momoko's bed. She wasn't really surprised. His past medical records had mentioned that he had yet to “sleep dry” and thus would likely still experience bed wetting episodes. Plus the meds he had been taking for his stomach troubles did mention possible diuretic effects.

 

She simply raised the blanket off of him and her heart broke when she saw that he was full on sobbing into his hands.

 

“Please don't... please don't...” Momoko whimpered, now trying to retreat to under his pillow.

 

Undyne didn't really know what to say. “Not do what kiddo?”

 

He continued whimpering the phrase even as the blanket was taken away and as Undyne tried to steady him up. There was no real damage as Undyne and Alphys had prepared for it, they had bought him training pants and mattress pads so that there'd be less mess in the case of an incident. But still he cried, bunching up his fists in her shirt as she tried to calm him down.

 

“Hey. Hey bud. Look at me. Look at me.” She soothed, using a tone she'd use on a homesick recruit back when she was a royal guard. “It ain't your fault. You had to pee and you gambled. No fault, no foul.”

 

He seemed to be unusually wary and looked back at her in confusion. “I didn't do a wrong?”

 

Undyne smiled at him and patted his head, guiding him off the bed so she could remove the mattress pad. “Nah. Can't really blame you for it. Plus you _are_ on meds at the moment.”

 

She bunched the soiled blanket and pad into a ball and expertly tossed it into the laundry basket in the hall, Momoko staring at her like she was the coolest person on earth. Turning back to him, she then said. “Lets go clean you up kiddo.”

 

It was fairly simple. He had other pairs of nightclothes and it wasn't really a hassle just to get a new mattress pad and a blanket from the linen closet. After washing her hands, Undyne left Momoko to use the bathroom and change so she could prepare the bed. Nerissa was now lying lazily on her bed, observing what was going on.

 

“Is he okay?” She asked as the fish woman as she fixed the pillow upright.

 

Undyne gave her a carefree grin. “Yeah. Just an accident. Can't be mad at him. I use to sleepwalk when I was little so I can't complain. It use to drive my dad NUTS since I'd sometimes unlock the front door and wander off. Never got father than Blook Farm before he'd catch me.” She smiled nostalgically and perked up when Momoko re-entered the room. “Hey bud! You ready for bed?”

 

“Um-hm.” Momoko nodded, now in a different pair of nightclothes with his original hanging loosely at the edge of the laundry basket.

 

“Wash your mitts?”

 

He nodded again and held up his hands for her to inspect. She stared at them dramatically like she was inspecting a gemstone and after gaining a smile, led him back to bed. Making sure to tuck him tight under the covers.

 

“Alright bud, I'm gonna have to go back to sleep. So if you have any problem... wake your mother.” She said jokingly, referring to Alphys.

 

“Which one?” He asked, genuine distress painted across his face. Upon seeing Undyne's confused look he specified. “Gojira-mama or Ninygo-mama?”

 

Undyne had to restrain herself from squeeing. She recognised the choice words immediately. Gojira was obvious as Alphys had mentioned the nickname before fondly. But “ninygo” needed some thought, eventually finding the answer when she recalled a “history book” that detailed fish-like women living in the sea off the coast of the human country Japan.

 

“Mermaid mom? Is that me?” She pointed to herself, trying to hide her delight. She lightly bumped his forehead with her own and playfully asked. “Is that me? Am I Ninygo-mama?”

 

Momoko laughed as she blew a raspberry on his cheek and wrapped her arms around him.“Hai! Ninygo-mama.”

 

“Alright! Guess I'm Ninygo-mama then. Make sure you get some sleep bud.” She kissed the top of his head before standing back up and making her way over to Nerissa's bed. Coming close she told the girl quietly. “If you or him have any trouble during the night, make sure to come and get me. Can I trust you with that?”

 

“Yes. I will.” Nerissa straightened up and nodded as if she was a soldier tasked with a dangerous mission. That image immediately faltered when Undyne repeated her actions by blowing a raspberry on her cheek and giving her a quick smooch on the forehead, sending the girl into a series of giggles. “Fuhuhuhu!”

 

“Get some sleep squirt.” Undyne gave her another kiss on her forehead before leaving the room, peaking in one last time to make sure that the two were settling down for sleep.

 

She sighed and wearily made her way back to her room, loudly flopping down onto the bed when she finally reached it. The sound and sudden weight stirred Alphys from her rest.

 

“A-are you okay?” She asked exhaustedly, the blankets rumbled around her in a nest like formation.

 

Undyne didn't reply and simply dove under the covers and pulled her into a soft embrace. She mumbled serenely into her partner's neck. “He called me mom.”

 

Alphys gave a proud smile and responded. “I told you that you had it in you.”

 

With that the two fell back into sleep, hoping that nothing else would wake them until morning.

 

***

 

Asgore yawned and lifted himself from the bed, absent-mindedly scratching the area behind his ears as he slipped his feet into his fuzzy slippers. Toriel shifted next to him and he could do nothing but wear a goofy smile. It had been a very long time since he had felt her warmth next to him. Unfortunately in the time that they had been separated he had developed a habit of waking up in the middle of the night to make himself a cup of tea and tonight wouldn't be an exception.

 

He made his way through the door and froze when he saw a small figure lying in the middle of the hallway.

 

“Jade?” he asked softly, gaining only a painful groan. Panicking he rushed up to her. Kneeling down at her side, his heart was beating a thousand miles per hour. “Jade! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

 

“I'm sorry. I'm sorry.” Was her only response as her muscles twitched and convulsed. Her feet were pointed towards the stairs where her slippers lay, looking as if they were flung down. “I'm sorry for waking you up. I'll go back to bed.”

 

She attempted to raise herself off the floor, instead slamming back down as pain shot up her spine. “AHH!” Her shriek was muffled as she bit down on her own hand, eliciting another painful sound.

 

Asgore stared at her with terrified look, deciding that his first action was to remove her hand from her mouth. It was bleeding with a distinct bite wound. Multiple now that he looked closer at it. Majority of them were fresh or bruised, making the skin an unsightly purple-yellow colour.

 

“Jade... What happened?” He could only muster, quickly discovering that his own hands were shaking.

 

She replied quietly. “My back started to hurt so I tried to go downstairs and get my medicine but I fell down on the way there.” She said this with an ashamed tone, barely able to lift her head.

 

“And where is your medicine?”

 

“I left it in the kitchen.”

 

Asgore nodded and in one quick motion, lifted the girl into his arms, making sure that she was seated comfortably before descending the stairs. The ground floor was empty but as he reached the end of the stairs, Asgore could see that the kitchen light was on and the first aid kit lay opened on one of the counter tops. He didn't pay it much mind as he was sure that he heard Papyrus shuffling around earlier in the night.

 

Scanning the rest of the kitchen, his gaze fell upon a small stack of paper pharmacy bags sitting on the breakfast table. Quickly reading the names of each one he frowned when he noticed that the seal and box for Jade's medication were unopened. He jumped when the sound of distant thunder could be heard in the rain outside.

 

Setting her down carefully onto one of the chairs, he put the kettle on the stove and asked her. “Would you like some tea Jade? It would help to wash the taste of the medicine down.”

 

Jade answered, leaning firmly against the back of the wooden chair as she slowly unboxed the medication. “Do we have any ginger tea?”

 

“Hmm. I believe so...” He checked the cupboards and was glad to find a half-empty box among all the others. Him and Toriel had always been big tea drinkers and since they now lived with others it made sense that they'd keep a wide selection on them at all times. “Aha! Found it!”

 

He prepared two mugs and retrieved the first aid kit. Walking over to Jade, he washed her injured hand with a disinfectant wipe before wrapping it in a thick bandage. He then playfully kissed it, pretending he was addressing a lady of the court. As they waited for the kettle to be fully boiled he asked the girl.. “My child, why didn't you tell anyone that you were in pain?”

 

Jade stared down at the strip of pills, trying her best to release them from their plastic casings as she tried to get use to her bandaged hand. “I would have woken you up.”

 

Asgore was befuddled by this answer. Whenever Asriel or Chara felt ill during the night, they would come into his and Toriel's room and be showered with hugs and kisses until they felt a little bit better. Often it would be enough to send them back into a peaceful slumber. So to have a child not much older than his own be only concerned about waking him up was confusing to say the least.

 

“I wouldn't have mind. It _is_ my job to take care of you Jade. That's what being a parent is all about.”

 

“I wouldn't know.” Jade replied bitterly, finally releasing a single pill from the strip. “I didn't have mine.”

 

The king was shocked by this response. Then again she had never mentioned any relatives that she had left behind or anything really about who had raised her. “Who raised you then? Surely someone had been taking care of you before you came to the Underground.”

 

The girl stared back at him like what he said was a foreign concept. “I'm... not sure what you mean. After my parents passed away I was sent to live with my grandparents and their family.”

 

“And didn't they take care of you?”

 

“That's not how it works. You are supposed to take care of your parents once they become older. I had to do that because they didn't have anyone else to.” She held an unfamiliar sour look on her face as she explained. “And since I was the eldest girl, I had to do chores while my boy cousins were allowed to go to school and play outside all day.”

 

Asgore closed his eyes and hummed in understanding. Humans had fairly unusual attitudes towards genders and from his observation he could tell that there was a distinct bias towards males, especially obvious in children. “Things used to be the same in the Underground but such attitudes phased out quite a few centuries ago. What I still don't understand is why you didn't alert any of us when your pain flared up?”

 

She sat still and tried to distract herself by reading the print on the side of the box. “I am not suppose to complain.”

 

“Jade...” He said in a sad tone, trying to bring himself closer to her. “You are allowed to complain. You are allowed to yell when you feel hurt. And you are most certainly allowed to wake me up if you feel any bit scared or hurt during the night.”

 

“That is very kind of you, but I can-”

 

He decided to interrupt her. “Nope. By the order of the King; I decree that you are allowed to come to me if you need help. No child of mine will ever again be put through so much pain.”

 

Jade didn't reply, instead her gaze went to the kettle as it made it's distinct whistling noise.

 

Asgore raised himself from his seat and as he poured the cups he commented. “You know... whenever I awoke during the night, my mother would make a giant pot of tea and we would pretend that it was the middle of the day and that we were having a nice picnic. She would tell me all about the kings and queens that came before her. By the end of it all I would be so tired that I'd fall asleep at the table.”

 

He smiled when Jade took the cup of tea from his hands and asked, barely able to hide her curiosity. “What was her name?”

 

“Asgeira.” He stated, looking as though he had just spoken the name of a god. “She lent half of her name to me. The “gore” part came from the one who sired me, my mother's most trusted advisor Goretti. He wasn't royalty by any means but he was an amazing Captain. Unfortunately I was never able to meet him.”

 

“How come?” Jade asked sadly, finally washing down her medicine. “Did he pass away?”

 

Asgore nodded solemnly, looking more proud than anything. “Indeed he did. In a battle that happened almost four hundred years ago. He was fighting invading humans coming in from the coast, an enemy force over a thousand strong.” He gave the girl a mischievous look and fibbed. “Oh but what am I saying? You wouldn't want to listen to an old goat's stories now would you?”

 

Jade's eyes lit up in wonder and she urged. “No! You have to tell me what happened! Did they come in by land or by sea? Did they have muskets or were they before their time? Which coast was it?” She dropped whatever mature facade she had held and only childish wonder remained,

 

The king chuckled warmly, glad to know that his mother's technique still worked. “Each answer has it's own story my child. Each as long as the last.”

 

“I can listen.” was her excited response.

 

“Well then!” Asgore smiled wide, beginning his tale. “In order to understand why there was such a battle, I am going to have to start with what they were even doing on the coast in the first place.”

 

Jade sat there with her eyes wide and ears open as the king began weaving together a tale of war, tragedy, suspense, and comedy. At some point during this tale, they had run low on tea but the king and the girl were too invested in the story to care.

 

***

 

“it's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing, flowers are blooming... on days like these, kids like you... no.” Sans stood at the end of the Judgement Hall and felt his very soul drop. At the end of the sun lit hall was Frisk, covered in chalky mixture of dust and blood. “ _no... no no no no no no_ _ **no!**_ _this can't be happening... this can not be happening!_ ”

 

“Frisk” stepped forward, the real knife held tightly in their hand. Chara's spirit hovered many feet above them.

 

The skeleton felt warm salty tears fall down his face as he whispered. “no. Please god no. I thought it was over kid. I thought we fixed it this time.”

 

Neither Frisk nor Chara said a word. Frisk's face was blank and expressionless, they didn't even seem to be breathing. Chara had a thousand yard stare, their eyes glazed over and looking more like the eyes of dolls than anything that had once been alive.

 

“what about the others? what about the six kids? what about Gaster? where are they this time?” He tried to jog the kids' memories much like Frisk had done for him when he became a Lost Soul. “don't you remember them?”

 

The kid stood in front of him, waiting for him to make the first move.

 

Sans checked Frisk's stats and felt like vomiting. “LV 20. that means you... please god kid don't do it.”

 

Frisk readied the knife and seemed to be debating on whether or not they should strike first.

 

“what about Toriel and Asgore? don't you feel anything for them anymore?”

 

“ _The easiest enemy. Can only deal 1 damage_.” Chara's ghostly voice recited, now looking fairly more disturbed than the other times. Turning their gaze to Frisk their voice quavered. “Why? _Why_?”

 

“Frisk” didn't reply, instead they lunged forward, still no match for Sans' dodging ability. The skeleton shouted as he barely missed the tip of the blade. “kid please. put the knife down. this isn't you. i **know** you.”

 

The knife was thrust barely an inch past his skull.

 

Sans's heart pounded and he tried his best to both dodge and try and talk some sense into “Frisk”. “you love hot dogs and burgers and you don't ever put enough ketchup on them. your favourite tea is golden flower, just like Asgore.”

 

The blade tore open the side of his jacket as he miscalculated the next attack.

 

“jesus...” He stared at the remains of his left sleeve, his bone and ecto exposed. “please kid. i don't want to do this to you.”

 

The kid missed this time. Chara was becoming more and more distressed by the round.

 

Sans let out a heavy breath and decided to gamble. “sorry Tori... looks like I'm gonna have to keep my promise.” He stood his ground and held his arms wide open. “Frisk... i know that you're still in there. you can overcome this. and i know that if you truly care, you'd put the knife down.”

 

“ _Sans is sparing you._ ” Chara announced, their voice echoing throughout the room. Their lip was quivering and their eyes looked damp. “ _Really_ _sparing you._ ”

 

“Frisk” stood still. After a moment, they collapsed at their feet with a look in their eyes that could only be seen as shame. Their hands moved to cover their face, smearing chalky dust and blood with what appeared to be fresh tears.

 

Sans was breathing heavily, it took what ever willpower he had not to flee the battle or break out an attack. After a few minutes, Frisk didn't seem inclined to moving from their spot on the floor and the skeleton let out a sigh of relief “jesus kid... I thought for sure that-”

 

The knife was in his stomach.

 

Sans had barely a second to register what had happened when he saw “Frisk” blood and chalk face staring at him with a look of pure hate. They held onto the knife as the skeleton fell onto his knees.

 

“ **NO**!” Chara shrieked, their red doll-like eyes running rivers of tears. They came to “Frisk” side and screeched. “HE SPARED YOU! HE ACTUALLY SPARED YOU! WHY DID YOU DO IT?”

 

“Frisk” stepped over Sans' body, continuing into the corridor that would lead them to Asgore. Sounds of Flowey crying to the king could be faintly heard from the throne room.

 

Sans coughed and twitched, keeping what ever gore a skeleton held from pouring out all over the floor. “heh heh heh... guess you really were a freak huh?”

 

Chara floated to his side and cried. “I'm so sorry Sans! I'm so sorry! I couldn't stop them. Please wake up!”

 

He laughed as something coppery leaked out of his mouth. “heh. don't worry Char. It's not like this will be the last timeline right?”

 

“Please wake up.” Chara sobbed into his jacket, their wails sounding like those of a banshee.

 

“Maybe next time will be brighter. Maybe next time dad will figure out how to stop this anomaly all together.”

 

“ _Please_ wake up.” They continued to plead, clutching his form tighter.

 

“And then we can go back to being a weird pseudo-family with nine kids and like seven parents.”

 

“Please wake up!”

 

His eye sight turned dim and all he could say before the lights went out for good was. “That would be nice...”

 

“PLEASE WAKE UP!”

 

***

 

Sans awoke to a small weight squeezing his stomach. When he opened his eyes he saw Chara, their short arms wrapped around him in a death grip. The human child was sobbing into his shirt, hiccuping and saying his name in between cries. The storm outside had turned violent and lightening could be heard every few minutes or so.

 

It was by this point that Sans' noticed that Papyrus' bed was empty. In a brief moment of panic he remembered his brother telling a bedtime story to the youngest kids earlier and it wouldn't be unlikely that he'd put himself to sleep with the same method.

 

Wiping tiredness and fear from his eyes he held the kid close in a similar grip. “hey Char. what are you doing up this late?” he hoped that they merely had a fear of the thunder and had not experienced any nightmares like he had.

 

Chara responded by managing to hug him tighter, their face pressing against his chest as the skeleton felt the wind get knocked out of him.

 

“oof! Easy kiddo, I'm not made of stone. If I were I'd already be at rock bottom.” He waited for a groan or maybe even a playful punch to the shoulder, but was surprised by the reply he got.

 

“I'm so glad you're here.” Chara mumbled, their tears staining the skeleton's shirt.

 

Sans wasn't really sure how to respond but echoed with. “i'm glad you're here too Char.”

 

As they shared a deep hug, the bedroom door creaked ever so open. Shifting their attentions to the door, they could see Frisk standing in the middle of the doorway, clutching an odd sunflower plushy in their hands.

 

“I don't like the noise.” they signed sleepily, walking over to Sans' bed where they crawled up to meet him.

 

Sans moved up on the bed so Chara and Frisk could fit. Easy seeing how the skeleton was naturally on the small side. “you okay bucko?”

 

“Noise.” The signed briefly, hiding their head under the blanket when another lightening bolt struck.

 

The skeleton wrapped a bony arm around the child, pulling them closer to his side. “i know kid. this thunder and lightening stuff is cool and all but it's sure as hell loud.”

 

A particularly loud one struck and Sans tried covering both of the kids' ears, only managing to pull them closer to him. After this loud strike was over, another small figure rushed into the room. Except this time it was white and furry.

 

“C-can I stay here?” Asriel shook, hugging himself tightly. “I don't like this lightening s-stuff.”

 

Sans didn't even reply, he just pushed up more on the bed so Asriel could join. The monster prince dove under the covers and nuzzled his face into the pillow alongside Frisk as the next few strikes sounded. Soon all three children were under the covers, with Frisk and Asriel on the inside whilst Chara was nearest to the side. Sans was smushed up against the wall side of his bed, sorta regretting not buying a bigger one. At least then he could have more room to slack off in.

 

“Alright kids. Can we all agree that nightmares and storms suck. Motion carried?”

 

“Yes.” Was the shared answer.

 

“Motion granted. Storms and bad dreams suck.” Sans said jokily, only to have the wind knocked out of him again when the next strike caused all three children to dog pile him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: First proper night at home. Looks like the storm isn't helping anyone. Please leave and review and have a nice day! :D  
> Thank the anon who pointed out that I forgot to write Asgore tending to Jade's hand. I was half-asleep when I finished this chapter.


	9. Education

The morning greeted Sans like a ton of bricks.

 

“First day of school! First day of school!”

 

If a ton of bricks happened to feel like three small children jumping on his bed.

 

“C'mon Sans wake up, wake up!” Asriel and Chara chanted as they and Frisk held hands and jumped in unison at the foot of Sans's bed, accidentally stepping on the skeleton's leg in the process. “First day of school! First day of school!”

 

“ _that's today?_ ” the skeleton thought to himself, trying to remember the date. He was pretty sure it was a Friday but he could be wrong. “ _oh wait. Tori said that we need to get them into the system first before sending 'em in proper_. _guess that counts as a first day._ ”

 

It would be simple enough. The first week of school was always shorter then the rest of the year. The kids would be out by three at most and after the weekend they'll be tackling a full morning-to-afternoon day. They had missed some of the orientation period due to obvious reasons, either because of the adoption process, hospital visits, or gaining an extra eight kids just a few days before Frisk was supposed to start. Still Sans knew that the kids were smart enough to catch up on their own.

 

“snnnn...” Sans turned over in his mock-sleep and snored in response. “don't wanna go to school. five more minutes. snnnn...”

 

“Not for you Sans, for us!” Asriel nudged his bony arm, pulling it upwards until the man was sitting upright.

 

Chara joined in by grabbing his other arm and slowly dragging him out of the bed. “C'mon Sans! Up, up!”

 

Frisk shoved Sans's pink fuzzy slippers onto his bony feet before taking him by both hands and guiding him to a standing position, signing excitedly. “School day! School day!”

 

The three kids looked proudly at their efforts. Only they alone were able to wake Sans up in under a minute, a feat not even the Great Papyrus had been able to do.

 

Their pride was immediately shattered when the skeleton fell backwards and landed on his bed in a snoring heap. A slipper dangling off a single bony foot.

 

Frisk sighed disappointedly before instructing the others. “Get the bucket. I'll start the hose.”

 

***

 

Toriel turned over in her sleep and upon feeling no one lying next to her, quickly awoke. She ran a hand across the mattress and felt the depression where her husband should be. Opening bleary eyes she confirmed that he was missing. Her mind immediately went into a panic before the sounds of childish laughter followed by a strange splashing sound brought her back to reality.

 

Her bedside clock read that it was a few minutes until seven am and she sighed with relief. He must have been woken up by the children rushing around in preparation for the big day ahead. With that she silently got dressed and turned off the alarm when it rang a few minutes later.

 

As she left her room she almost tripped over the long green hose leading from the bathroom to Sans and Papyrus's room. Following it she found that it lead to Asriel, Chara and Frisk. A large green bucket was suspended high in the air with blue magic, water dripping down its sides and onto the rug. Asriel scratched his ears in confusion before Sans suddenly sprang forward and trapped all three children in a suffocating hug.

 

“ahh!” he mock shouted, the kids echoing him with playful shrieks as he hovered the bucket menacingly over each of their heads

 

Toriel laughed warmly, catching the man's attention.

 

“oh! mornin' Tori.” He gave her a wink as the kids tried to wrestle their way out of his arms. “kids were just giving me a wake up call.”

 

“I can certainly see that.” She carefully lifted the full bucket from the air, it's blue magic dissipating once it was placed on the ground. “Just make sure they start getting ready soon. We have a long day ahead of us.”

 

“don't you worry. years of wrestling Papyrus into school clothes have honed my child-herding abilities to perfection.” He assured as Frisk managed to slip from his grasp and begin climbing up his back. “I got this.”

 

Toriel simply smiled. “Well with you on the job, I'll go get started on breakfast. What would you like?”

 

“Chocolate chip pancakes!” Chara and Asriel piped up, both attempting to put Sans into a head lock. The skeleton man responded by retreating into his shirt and making himself look like a demented tortoise.

 

Toriel laughed, she should have expected as much. “Okay, we'll have pancakes if we have the ingredients. Let me just ask the others if they would like any.” As she exited the room she heard the sound of water splashing against something but chose not to turn around and investigate.

 

“Nyyeeehh... Nyyeeehh...”

 

She did however choose to investigate the snoring coming from the next room. Her smile grew wider when she found Papyrus sprawled on top of Olive's bed in a deep sleep, a book covering his face. The little girl was tucked under his arm surrounded on all sides by stuffed animals. Tan was sleeping in the same sprawled fashion against the skeleton's side, his head resting on Papyrus's chest. Toby the dog was curled up near the skeleton's head, apparently having an eventful dream about running through a field.

 

“Oh dear...” She whispered to herself, trying to stifle laughter when Toby began kicking at the air (and subsequently Papyrus's noggin) in the midst of his delightful doggy dreams.

 

Papyrus awoke instantly, the book sliding off his head onto the dog. The dog didn't seem to be phased by this however and continued panting and kicking at the air without a care in the word.

 

“AHH! THE RATS ARE AT THE GATES! QUICKLY, HIDE THE CHEESE!” He shouted feverishly, waking the children. Papyrus stared around the room for a few seconds before remembering where he was. “Oh.” He realised with a twinge of embarrassment, immediately perking up when he saw Toriel in the doorway. “GOOD MORNING YOUR MAJESTY! IS IT MORNING ALREADY?”

 

Toriel allowed a giggle to escape and confirmed. “Indeed it is Papyrus. I am hoping to make pancakes for breakfast and I was wondering if you or the children would like some.”

 

“Yes! Yes!” Came the alert voices of Tan and Olive with not a speck of tiredness on their faces, a rare gift of youth.

 

Papyrus smiled even as the two children scrambled over his ribcage to get out of bed, already half-way out the door. “MAY I ASSIST YOU IN THE KITCHEN?”

 

“If it wouldn't be any trouble.” The queen replied, ruffling Tan's wild quiff of hair as he past her. “I need to make sure that the rest of the house is awake. So you can begin preparations if you wish.”

 

“I WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO! EVERY DAY SHOULD START WITH A HEALTHY BREAKFAST AND AT LEAST AN ENTIRE HOUR OF - RUNNING AWAY FROM YOUR SIBLING.” He trailed off, making a ponderous face.

 

As if on cue Momoko sped barefooted past the door, half-dressed in his day clothes with his dressing gown trailing behind him like a cape. “I am not wearing them!”

 

Nerissa followed shortly afterwards, holding a pair of shiny black shoes in her left hand. She would have run if not for the casts protecting her legs and feet. She put one crutch in front of the other, replying in an annoyed tone. “She says we're suppose to wear our good shoes to school.”

 

“You can not make me! They hurt my feet!” Momoko shouted back, making a sharp U-turn when he reached the end of the hall, out running the older child yet again.

 

“THERE SEE! THOSE TWO HAVE THE RIGHT IDEA.” Papyrus looked proud, failing to notice when Momoko grabbed the good shoes and tossed them into the room in protest. “REMINDS ME OF HOW SANS USED TO DO IT, EXCEPT WITH LESS CHEATING.”

 

Toriel's only response was to shake her head and give Nerissa an understanding pat on the shoulder. “At least I know who else is awake. I imagine Undyne woke you up early?” Nerissa nodded, deciding to abandon the task of clothing her step-sibling. “All right then. I'm making pancakes, if you or Momoko would like any I will make you both a plate.” After gaining another affirmative nod, she smiled. “Alright then. Let me just wake up Jade and Sunny, and I will start breakfast preparations.”

 

She was surprised, after the short journey to the bedroom just across the hall, that there was no one in the room. Both beds were empty, the one with the sunflower duvet left unmade. The queen pondered for a second before coming to the conclusion that the two eldest children were likely downstairs with Asgore, already dressed and ready to face the day.

 

After a careful decent down the stairs, her theory was proven false when she looked into the front sitting room. Sleeping away in the reclined armchair was Asgore, a heavy history book sitting on his left arm and Jade fast asleep under his right.

 

Feeling her heart melt, Toriel brushed the side of her husband's face with a gentle hand. Smiling widely as his eyelids fluttered awake, he answered with his own goofy grin.

 

“Oh! Good morning Tori. I'm afraid I was preoccupied last night. Jade had awoken and required my aid.”

 

Toriel glanced at the girl's bandaged hand and whispered sympathetically before kissing her forehead. “Poor dear. I hope today won't be too much for her.”

 

Asgore let out a warm hum, raising himself out of his reclined position. “No need to fear. She's as resilient as stone. I may be more worried about Frisk however.”

 

“And why would that be?”

 

“Well from what we do know of their past, Frisk's formal education was apparently quite lacking. I fear that this new school maybe a little overwhelming for them.”

 

It was Toriel's turn to object. “Whilst I do agree that Frisk may require more attention academically, I doubt that they will find themselves falling behind. If they do, they will have enough support from home to make up for it. What with three scientists and a teacher in the family.”

 

The king smiled and shook his head lightly, moving so not to immediately disrupt the one lying against him. “I know. I know. I'm just being a paranoid old goat. It has been so long since we've had to send our children to school and I can't help but worry for them.”

 

“Do not worry Asgore, Mt Ebott Elementary is only a twenty minute walk from here and with our new jobs we will never be too far away.” She soothed, carefully raising Jade to a standing position. “Speaking of which, I have to make sure that all of them are ready before it gets too late. The principal stressed that we admit them before the orientation period is over.”

 

Asgore nodded in understanding before narrowing his eyes and sniffing the air. “Is something burning?”

 

“Hmm?” Toriel smelled the air as well before making her way into the kitchen, Jade holding her hand tiredly. “Papyrus have you- oh!”

 

A black pile of sludge was oozing out from under the basement door.

 

“...coffee...” It whispered statically, making it's way over to the counter where Sunny stood attempting to figure out the stove top. Something black had encrusted itself onto a pan and smelled like it could have once been an omelette, the smoke escaping out of the open window above the sink. Tan and Olive stood a few feet away from the chaos looking as lost as Toriel was.

 

The boy turned to the goopy mass as if it were the most normal thing in the world and responded. “You'll get it when I figure this out. Now how do I... do anything? Never managed to burn eggs before.”

 

“You use the knob things to change the heat.” Jade suddenly spoke up, startling both the boy and the oozing mass. “You're supposed to know what heat is the best to cook something. You might of put it on too high a heat.”

 

“Oh...” Sunny said disappointedly, hair dishevelled and the back of his long john-styled pyjamas unbuttoned, exposing his duck-patterned undergarments to the world. “I have no idea how that works. I use to just cook 'em over coals.”

 

Toriel sighed but kept her bright smile. “Don't worry dear. I prefer them fire cooked myself.” She turned off the heat and scraped the remnants of the omelette into the garbage, giving the pan a fierce scrubbing until most of the charcoal had been rubbed off. Turning to the boy she asked. “Do we happen to have the ingredients for pancakes?”

 

“Uhh...” Sunny stalled, looking inside the fridge and the pantry before asking. “We got flour, milk, and eggs. And baking... so... sod-a?”

 

“Soda.” Tan corrected, trusting his elder cousin enough to step forward.

 

“I know what it says. Is that all we need?”

 

Toriel nodded, wondering if Sunny knew how to make pancakes himself. “Yes they are. Can you make sure that the others are getting ready? I just need to get the pan clean and then I'll start frying the pancakes off.”

 

Sunny looked surprised, somehow expecting to do the cooking himself. “Oh! Okay. C'mon you half-dressed varmints.” He corralled the three other children up stairs to get ready, suddenly noticing that the back of his pyjamas was open.

 

Papyrus arrived shortly afterwards fully dressed and ready for the day ahead. He loudly announced to anyone who could hear him. “METTATON SAYS HE HAS A SHOW TO FILM AT THREE, SO I'LL DRIVE HIM INTO TOWN AND HELP PICK UP THE CHILDREN ON THE WAY BACK!” He sniffed the air and turned to stare at the black mass lying on the floor. “FATHER DID YOU EXPLODE SOMETHING AGAIN?”

 

The black mass groaned and reached one amorphous arm over the counter to retrieve the jar of instant coffee, deciding to very well make it himself.

 

The next few minutes were uneventful. Papyrus began mixing all the ingredients together in a large bowl, needing a few pointers to make sure he didn't put in too much or too little. Toriel finally managed to remove the last of the former omelette from the pan and began melting a healthy dollop of butter before adding the mixture. Sunny made it his task to herd the rest of the household into the kitchen, half dragging the rest of the children down from their rooms.

 

Gaster sat slumped in his chair, slowly regaining his solid form. He was growing bored of being cooped up in the house all day but was aware that finding work at his age would be fruitless. He at least would have Sans's and Alphys's company during the daytime and he still kept in contact with his old followers but wondered if he could branch out and maybe befriend some of their new neighbours. Or perhaps go for a lazy wander along the beach and pier. It _had_ been a long time since he had seen the ocean.

 

Sans took sneaky sips from the ketchup bottle, making sure that the kids weren't attempting a coup for earlier. He had little to do today and that's how he preferred it. With the kids at school and most of the adults at work, he had a good five or six hours to himself. Whether it be holding down the fort while the others were away or fixing up lunch for anyone at home during the afternoon, he could sneak in as much slacking off as he wanted without being reprimanded too much. He laughed under his breath and wondered if “house-spouse” was his dream career.

 

Undyne bounced her right leg excitedly, only pausing to help tie Nerissa's hair into it's usual bun. She had been anticipating this day for a while and was absolutely ecstatic. During the kids application into Mt Ebott Elementary, she discovered that the position for assistant PE teacher was vacant. The school had gone through four PE teachers in the last five years, unable to find a coach that didn't ignore or overwork the children. She offered to fill in the position and in no less than a day later she got a call back asking if she was still available. She would train her pupils rigorously, maybe not to the degree of a royal guard but it was certainly a start.

 

Alphys sat next to her partner, blanket still wrapped around her like a robe. It had been hard finding work, but with support from her housemates she was able to find a tech company that were interested in producing prosthetic limbs and body parts based off the designs originally conceived for Mettaton. It was situated in Fox City, about an hour's drive from Mt Ebott. The company had been very understanding of her situation and allowed her to work from home, sending her updated blueprints and mechanical notes via email, and only needing a short in-person interview and monthly check-ins to satisfy the CEOs. She shrugged the blanket off her shoulders and wondered if she should start on her new leg designs now or after lunch.

 

Asgore scratched the back of his ears tiredly, a cup of tea already brewed and steaming in his hands. He had graciously accepted the part-time but none less important job of groundskeeper for both the Elementary and Middle schools in their district. He had always loved working in the sun helping flowers grow and nurturing a sort of wild propriety into the earth. However no matter what career he may seek, to many he was still King, and thus he was still approached in the matter of politics and advice in how to best adjust to such a new world. Whether it be guiding his saplings, his young, or his people, Asgore was perfectly happy with his lot as of present.

 

Mettaton yawned dramatically, practising elocution in the hallway mirror. He was fully charged and was keeping a close eye on his energy levels. He was a very busy robot after all, being the face and star of multiple properties, either on screen, on stage, or on hotel brochures. His fame had exploded when he reached the surface, he supposed it was because to humans he was a very “marketable” monster, unlike many which lacked skin, faces, or bodies. But he knew better than to let his popularity overshadow the fact that he was first and foremost an icon to monsters. Being defeated by Frisk had taught him that. Now he had a home and a family to retreat to when the lights and cameras became a little too bright. He smiled at his reflection and decided that he should visit Blooky after work. Maybe introduce him to his new niece.

 

Papyrus hummed away at the counter, enjoying the odd pops and sizzles the pancakes made as they fried on the pan. It was certainly a far cry from the bubbling made by a boiling pot of pasta. He was still looking for work. He didn't have many qualifications beyond being a guardsman and cook, and many of the jobs that did interest him seemed to be more interested in humans with degrees. He had considered applying for a job at Grillby's new bar but paled at the thought of cooking greasy food and having Sans as a frequent customer. He continued humming away and wondered if there was anywhere in town that needed a security guard.

 

Toriel placed a large stack of pancakes on the table, not surprised when the whole table dug in. She patted Sunny's head and gestured him to sit down and eat while she retrieved the honey from the cupboard. It had been so long since she had a home filled with life and laughter yet she embraced it as if all her mornings were so chaotic. Perhaps it was the knowledge that her home would always have at least one occupant on standby. Or knowing that even on days where she couldn't find the energy to cook or read there would always be someone willing to do one or the other. Or maybe it was because she awoke with warm bed and bright smiles no matter how down she felt. Or maybe it was because the house would fall apart without her. Any reason would do.

 

They all ate without silence, the general air of conversation being planned yet chaotic. Someone asking for the milk jug, a pair commenting on last nights weather, three discussing the school and who worked there, four wondering who going to do grocery shopping, and the rest complaining about how early it was. Toby the Dog yapped incessantly throughout the meal, only quieting down when the back door was opened so he could do his business and roll around in the dew-soaked grass.

 

The kids ate ravenously, with Asgore having to prevent some of them from inhaling their food. Chara was predictably miffed that there hadn't been any chocolate in the pantry and substituted the dark goody with an unhealthy amount of sugar. Upon seeing that their pancake was now completely white, Toriel make a note to add chocolate chips or perhaps chocolate syrup to the shopping list.

 

Soon as the clock ticked to eight there was a mad scramble for the door. The house didn't have a driveway or garage, being in a fairly old neighbourhood, but there was just enough space on the parking lane in front of the house for all three cars. Papyrus, Asgore, Chara, Frisk and Asriel all jumped into Papyrus's convertible. The rest of the children split into both Undyne's and Toriel's cars, just barely having enough seats for all of them. Sans, Mettaton and Alphys waved goodbye to them from the porch, smiling widely as the kids frantically waved back.

 

Such a hasty convoy wouldn't be norm however, as the school bus typically stopped at the end of the street and it would be fairly cumbersome in the afternoon if the adults were to be held back late. The overall journey would take less than ten minutes on the road, but Toriel was hoping that once they became more acquainted with the town itself the children would opt to walk home some days. Especially since the warm Autumn weather was far too wonderful to ignore.

 

Old Ebott Town's school district was fairly small. Being it's main source of education meant it carried a distinct sense of pride and for the past decade had carried a fierce rivalry with the newer, more stately schools in the North of town. It had the Elementary, Middle, and High School, and even the local community centre within a short walking distance from each other. This fact, along with it's convenient location close to the centre of town, made it fairly popular among monsters and humans alike.

 

They pulled up to the entrance of Mt Ebott Elementary in a timely fashion, just about missing the mad rush of cars and mini-vans pouring in from the dense suburbs in the north and east of town. After parking both Undyne's and Toriel's cars in the teacher's lot they waited for Papyrus, who was going at a deliberately slow speed so not to jostle his passengers. Only after he made it safely into the lot did they turn to approach the wide school building. It had only two stories, being made in an era before there were enough children to fill the classes, and owned a fairly large area of land which would be meticulously cared for by it's new groundskeeper (and part time king).

 

The principle Mrs Shrike, a short yet stern woman who had been running herself ragged accommodating all of the new families, greeted them warmly and offered to give the adults a full tour of the premises. “Class is about to start, would it be okay if we let the children join their classes from here?”

 

“Of course.” Toriel nodded, fixing her blouse to make sure her reading glasses were still in the breast pocket. “If there's any trouble, we'll be close by.” She knelt down to meet the kids at eye level, speaking to them as a group. “We won't be gone for too long. We will bring you to your classes and I'll make sure we'll be there to collect you once the school day is finished. Would that be fine?”

 

The children all nodded, some of them trying their best to mask their nervousness.

 

“We won't be too far.” Asgore reassured them, giving his son a warm pat on the head. “If it becomes too much for you, you can come get us.”

 

“And we'll take care of anyone who gives you trouble!” Undyne interjected, showing off her muscular arms to the amazement of any onlookers. After gaining a curt cough from the principle, she quickly added. “If they deserve it of course.”

 

Frisk predictably shared third grade with Chara and Asriel, being of the same (at least on a physical level) age group as each other. Sunny was in fifth grade, mostly due to being the most mature of the children although he seemed to be having trouble organising his timetable. Jade and Nerissa were in fourth grade, sitting awkwardly in their seats for a few minutes before eventually starting conversation with the two children sitting on either side of them. Momoko had almost qualified for the third grade but ended up sharing the second with Tan due to his difficult grasp of English. Olive was the only one in first grade and put up the biggest struggle when they tried to leave her in the classroom, only calming down when Papyrus soothed her by citing that they wouldn't be too far away.

 

Toriel had secured the sixth grade teaching position meaning that she would unfortunately be unable to oversee her children's progress directly – at least for the year. She was surprised to learn that some of the other teachers had assistants to help tend to the students needs. Understandable seeing how class sizes had risen dramatically since monster children began attending.

 

“Perhaps in future we may need to split the classrooms, but at the moment we have the teaching assistants to help some of the other students catch up.” The principal explained, showing Toriel her new classroom. “If you ever feel that you need one we can arrange it before the semester is over.”

 

Toriel walked into the room in almost a daze. She ran her fingers across the heavy oak desk that would be her workstation and looked over the five by four rows of the chairs and tables that would be her class, her students. She swore she felt her voice hitch when she answered. “No thank you. I believe I can take it from here.”

 

Principal Shrike nodded in understanding, allowing the monster queen to begin organising her new room.

 

Undyne and Papyrus practically shouted in excitement when they entered the tall echoing gym hall, running at least two laps around the room before barrelling through the outward-opening doors. They shouted even louder when their eyes fell upon the shared soccer and baseball pitches situated only a few metres distance from the school district proper.

 

The principal huffed as she tried to catch up with the fish woman and skeleton, trying her best not to wheeze. “The pitches are typically unused until teams can be chosen but are popular for informal games as well.” She discreetly wiped the sweat from her brow, trying not to seem tired. “They're also used for the after-school and weekend clubs. Ms Undyne, do you think you'll be able to handle both duties for the time being? Our regular teacher is unavailable and we can post-pone try outs until he returns.”

 

Undyne was shivering. Back in the Underground there was never enough room to play. She remembered her early childhood, her and the other children trying their bests to play football or tag inside the caverns. Trying their best not to trip over the jagged rocks or hit the hard walls or fall into the murky glowing waters. Even the royal guardsmen had to be trained inside four by four volcanic walls or out in desolate plains of Snowdin forest because their was simply not enough room and too many ways for someone to get hurt. Now she had entire **acres** of land for her, her students, her **kids** , to run and play and trip and train as they saw fit.

 

“Or do you wish to start try outs on Monday?”

 

Undyne nodded, covering her mouth to keep what ever intense emotion she was brewing at bay.

 

Principal Shrike noticed her reaction and silently decided that the former Captain was perfectly capable of the task. She smiled. “Okay. We'll do that. The kids are no bother at all, once they find a sport they like they'll be flying at it. Just be... cautious around the parents. This is a very sports oriented town and the parents may react badly if their team fails.”

 

Undyne let out a dry laugh.

 

Papyrus followed it by saying “WHAT'S WRONG WITH LOSING EVERY SO OFTEN? AT LEAST YOU GOT TO PLAY.”

 

Principal Shrike rounded off the tour by showing Asgore the grounds shared between the elementary and middle school. Most of it was cut green lawns but was bordered on all sides by dense shrubbery and bushes. Many trees of different species, all in different stages of growth, were lined up in spaced rows along the sides of the playground and outdoor lunch areas, each one having a small wooden plaque showing a number.

 

“Every Spring we plant a new tree on the premises.” The human woman explained, pointing out a specific member of the cluster. “It's a little tradition that started a few decades ago when one of the school's students planted an acorn believing that an oak would spring up overnight.”

 

“I understand that quite well. My son thought the same about flowers. He used to become so impatient at the wait that he tried commanding them to blossom.” Asgore chuckled at the memory, wondering if Asriel would still do that.

 

He remembered that when he was young his mother would tell him stories about trees that gave fruits and nuts, and how he never believed her since the only trees he knew of were thick Snowdin pines that only gave sharp needles and tough seeds. Yet every so often a nut or fruit would tumble through cracks in the mountain and take root, accomplishing something that no scientist or woodsman could ever replicate. So it was paramount that any tree that managed to survive the dark reaches of the Underground would be taken care of until it passed away naturally.

 

It was a little daunting to the King when he first entered the Surface. Trees growing everywhere their roots could spread, thick shrubs covered in berries and flowers, entire forests filled with nothing but birches and oaks. Asgore had always loved nature and the idea of nurturing life into the earth made his heart leap.

 

“What kinds are these?” He asked suddenly, deciding not to dwell too long on his wonder. He had been reading up in the care and nurturing of many types of plants but had yet to properly identify them by sight alone. “I certainly recognise the oak and perhaps a cherry tree, but some of them I can't even find a comparison to.”

 

The principal looked surprised for a split second before reminding herself of the circumstances. “Mostly fruit trees. We do a poll coming up to Arbor Day and the children tend to choose ones that give fruit or look nice. Last year's winner was a maple tree.” She lowered her voice like what she was saying was a badly-kept secret. “I think it's because they want to harvest syrup from it when it's fully grown.”

 

Asgore had to laugh, not too put off by the idea himself. “If I find any evidence of syrup theft I'll be sure to let you know.”

 

Principal Shrike finally allowed a laugh to escape. These people were exactly what this school needed.

 

***

 

Frisk tapped their fingers on the desk excitedly. They still couldn't believe it, their first day of school! It wasn't like Frisk had never been to a new school, far from it, but rather it was the first day of school with their new family.

 

“ _Family._ ” Frisk giggled to themselves, the tapping becoming the tiniest bit faster. They had a _**family**_.

 

“You ready Frisk?” Chara signed, taking up the seat next to them. They had slowly but surely picked up sign language from their many timelines around Frisk and was being taught well enough by Gaster that they could speak freely with their sibling.

 

“ _Siblings._ ” Frisk giggled again, feeling all warm inside. They could say that they were someone's _**sibling**_. “I'm fine. Excited.”

 

“I think we have a lady teacher.” Asriel signed over the chatter of the classroom, the teacher having not yet arrived despite it being a few minutes into the school day. “Mom says she's very nice.”

 

“ _Mom and Dad._ ” Frisk couldn't stop the third giggle from escaping. A Mom and a Dad. And two Uncles. And two Aunts. And a few assorted Cousins. And a Grampa. Frisk wasn't exactly sure where Sans fit into the equation, whether a third Uncle or a second Dad, but a Him also. Deciding to answer their brother (“ _Brother_ ” the giggling wouldn't go away.), Frisk signed back. “I hope so. Back in my old school the teacher ignored me.”

 

“Who could ignore you?” Chara signed dramatically, dragging out the hand gestures. “You're the most interesting person in the room.”

 

“You're a Prince and Princev.”

 

“And you're the Angel of the Underground.” Asriel argued with a smile, subconsciously mimicking Frisk's desk tapping. “And our kingdom's ambassador.”

 

“Ambassador isn't a very fun job...” Frisk admitted, stalling the last gesture. “They expect me to talk with my mouth.”

 

“Good thing Sans was there.” Chara commented, replacing “S-a-n-s” with the word “nothing” for the sake of convenience. Most of their family members had a short nickname so they didn't have to spell out their names letter by letter. “How did you think you do?”

 

“Good?” Frisk wavered both their hands and answer. Honestly they hadn't a clue for politics, what nine-year old does? But it seemed that a small precocious child pleading to the masses won congress over. In the end the government were half-negotiated half-sweet talked into signing the many many bills that would allow monsters to (but not limited to); own property, hold jobs, educate and be educated, and to quarantine the Mountain as both a hazard and a historical sight. And that was just the first week. “Confusing.”

 

“It gets easier the more you do it.” Asriel reassured, giving them an encouraging smile. “Mom is really good at speaking to other politicians and Dad is good at rallying people together. With them at your side, you're unstoppable.”

 

Frisk nodded, still feeling a little unsure of themselves.

 

The classroom door opened suddenly, revealing a tall woman with blonde hair tied tightly into a bun. She wore a pink pinstriped blouse and a dark pencil skirt, a gold bracelet and watch, and two diamond rings worn proudly on her left hand. A pair of thin frame reading glasses sat on the bridge of her button nose, a pair of bright green eyes looking through them.

 

She started the class by announcing. “Mrs Colt is out sick today, so I will be substituting for today's class.” She said with little emotion, writing her name (of which it was Mrs Evans) on the board alongside what appeared to be a schedule for the day. It was a simple skill assessment, a run down of how much the class knew and what they should be working on.

 

“The first thing we should start on is English.” Mrs Evans began, reading over the plan set forward by the absent teacher. “Mrs Colt mentioned that you moved onto tongue twisters and I want to finish that up before lunch is over.”

 

Frisk winced a bit. Due to obvious reasons, they weren't exactly able to say any tongue twisters. But who knows, maybe the teacher would accept an non-verbal answer.

 

Going around the class alphabetically, the teacher told them to recite “Seven silly sausages sizzling.“

 

As each student sang out the short yet difficult phrase, Frisk couldn't help but notice that Mrs Evans tended to pass over certain children, particularly ones with heavy accents or ones who had failed to finish the sentence in less than a few seconds. Finally when she got to Asriel, she unexpectedly cut him off just as he got the hang of it. The monster prince looked stunned at this action, especially since his previous teachers (a job filled in by many a Core scientist or his Mother) had always been patient with him.

 

“Now Miss Chara.” Mrs Evans began, mispronouncing both the child's name and pronoun. “Seven silly sausages sizzling.”

 

“It's pronounce Mx.” Chara smiled sickeningly wide. Not in politeness or cheer but for the same reason a crocodile bares it's teeth before deciding to strike. “Seven silly sausages sizzling on the stove. So many singed sausages for supper.”

 

Mrs Evans looked more annoyed than impressed by the child's display and moved onto the next seat – Frisk's.

 

“Miss Frisk. Seven silly sausages sizzling.”

 

They would have forgiven the woman if it had been a slip of the tongue, but with how she deliberately ignored the pronoun on both theirs and Chara's records, Frisk frowned. It had been easy to argue for non-binary genders/pronouns to be considered legitimate, mainly because many monsters didn't _have_ genders and those who did didn't put much stock into them. Frisk and Chara were able to nudge the letter on their records into the “NB” category with little resistance.

 

Still Frisk supposed that the inclusion of an extra few pronouns on the charter was confusing for the substitute teacher, so they began.

 

“Seven.” They held up the appropriate amount of fingers and before they could finish “Sausage”, the woman interrupted them.

 

“Young lady.” She rolled her tongue in emphasis, her tone sounding rather harsh “This is a tongue twister, not charades.”

 

“They don't talk.” Asriel explained, hand pressed against his cheek. He hoped that it was a simple mistake as he was sure Mom had stressed that Frisk was non-verbal. “They only use sign language. We can translate if you need us to.”

 

Mrs Evans gave the other child the stink-eye and pursed her lips into a sneer. “No thank you. I'll just wait until Frisk decides not to be a rebel and actually do her work.”

 

The royal children's eyes widened. This woman either had rocks for brains or a stone for a heart, or possibly both as even the Principal knew about Frisk's condition in advance.

 

Chara giggled dangerously. “Let us rephrase that. Frisk _can't_ talk. They're non-verbal.”

 

The teacher made the bold move of staring at either side of Frisk's head, obviously checking for hearing aids or headphones. “She certainly seems to able to hear. Maybe if she stops slapping her hands like that, she'd have the energy to say something.”

 

Frisk's subconscious tapping stopped when the woman's glare bore down on them, making them feel like they were caught doing something bad, something wrong, something _freakish_. The child fidgeted, nervousness and anxiety building up as the seconds ticked away. They looked over to Chara and Asriel, both shaking their heads in a silent “No. You don't have to.”

 

Before they could feel their breath catch in their throat, the boy next to them announced abruptly. “Mom, I don't think they're gonna talk. Seven silly sausages sizzling.” His prominent baby teeth giving him a noticeable lisp.

 

Mrs Evans's mood brightened immediately, turning her attention to the child who bore a remarkable similarity to herself and beamed at him. “Of course sweetie! It's almost lunch so we'll just drop it for now.”

 

She quickly moved on, completely ignoring the Dreemurr children as she moved onto the next child.

 

Frisk signed “Thanks.” to the boy, glad to have wriggled out of such an uncomfortable situation.

 

The boy stared at them before admitting in a quiet voice. “I have no idea what you said... but you're welcome. I'm Jack.”

 

Frisk smiled at the boy and when Jack smiled back, decided that maybe this school wouldn't be _so_ bad.

 

***

 

Around the same time in a different room, Sunny was holding his head between his hands, staring blankly at an equally blank sheet of paper. He looked around, growing ever more nervous as everyone else seemed to understand it ten-fold more than he did.

 

It felt so strange.

 

He had been taught in the same room, by the same teacher, in a class of twelve his entire life. He only went for four hours (five if it was Winter at most) before being sent back out to do fieldwork – because everyone knew a young man having work was far better than giving him an education. Now he was in a new school, with a new teacher, in a class of at least twenty-five, and he was expected to stay until the bell said so – work be damned. He kept scratching the arm of his newly washed dress shirt, still expecting to feel sunburn or blisters from where the fibres of his old cowhide vest chafed deep enough to warrant blood.

 

The teacher was a dowdy brunette woman who silently gave every student a quiz sheet before sitting at her desk and not so secretly looking at things on her phone and her computer. Sunny supposed that it was better than his old teachers who taught drunk but she could have at least introduced herself or even pretended to be the smallest bit involved with her class.

 

Sunny felt someone nudge him and he turned to see a kid his age, pearly white teeth with poorly concealed pock marks, leaning over his desk to ask.

 

“What's the answer to number six?” The boy asked dully, looking far more bored than confused. His bleach blonde hair was combed into a harsh mock-mullet and glistened with some sort of oil. The top of his worksheet had the name Hunter on it in big blocky letters but Sunny wasn't sure if it was his first or last name.

 

“Don't know.” He admitted, tearing his gaze away from the other's paper. It had something to do with numbers but the instructions weren't really all that clear. Instead of an actual minus or a plus it rambled into three sentences of complete nonsense. “Trying to find the numbers.”

 

The boy looked somehow even more bored, rolling his blue-green eyes before turning and apparently getting the answer from the person on his other side.

 

Sunny started all but scribbling into the answer boxes, completely winging it. If he failed he could at least say he tried.

 

Another nudge. Same kid.

 

“What's number eight?”

 

Sunny felt his face pucker in annoyance before answering. “Don't know, still on it.”

 

The kid grunted and tapped the shoulder of the girl in front of him, sated for at least a few more minutes. Sunny shamefully put down the overheard answer, hoping that he could at least turn in something passable. Was the teacher even bothering to check in case anyone was cheating?

 

The clock's ticking sounded so much louder than it should be. Sunny tapped the pencil against his thumb and middle finger, trying to breathe easy and at least finish the damn page before the bell rang. “Hunter” just continued to either lean over and write answers off of somebody else or bother them into giving him the answer.

 

The third nudge was the hardest, practically shoving the smaller boy out of his seat.

 

“What's number eleven?” Hunter asked with a frustrated tone in his voice. Like somehow Sunny not having all the answers was some kind of personal affront to him.

 

Sunny's hand clenched around his pencil. He started breathing in deeper, remembering what his second-eldest brother used to say whenever he got into trouble with the other kids in town. “ _Don't get mad kid. He's just like those rich white boys who never learnt how to wipe their own asses. He's gotta learn reality on his own._ ”

 

“Hey.” The kid shoved again, looking more upset at other for ignoring him. “When I ask you a question you should at least answer you _pinto_.” He sneered the last word, jabbing his finger at the other boy's face.

 

“ _Alright tear into 'em._ ” Sunny turned to the taller boy and said quite loudly. “You know you could get your work done faster if you stopped stealing it from everyone else.”

 

He did not expect to hear a low snicker radiate throughout the class, unsure if he had said something of great wit or stupidity. It was here that he noticed that every other student's gaze was fixated on him, and that the teacher had finally tore herself away from her phone long enough to notice something was happening.

 

She strolled up to the two boys and asked dully. “Alright, what's going on?”

 

“I was trying to help him with the questions Miss!” Hunter exclaimed, taking upon the role of victim. “And he just kept blowing me off!”

 

“Young man, you should listen to someone when they're trying to help you.” The teacher scolded the smaller boy, wagging her finger at him. “Especially when you scribble all over the page like that.”

 

Sunny's eyes darted to his sheet, each answer box covered in crossed out sentences and equations to the point they ran off the page. He couldn't help but bark at her. “That's not what happened! He's the one muscling answers from everyone else!”

 

None of the children, not even the ones Hunter had bothered earlier said a thing.

 

“Detention during lunch.” The teacher announced with a stiff tone, turning to sit back at her desk. “Maybe it will teach you something about lying about your betters.”

 

Sunny felt his blood boil a bit. He huffed and tried to not look at Hunter's shit-eating grin less he be tempted to slap it clean off.

 

“ _Don't worry brother. One day he'll swim and drown._ ” He heard his second-oldest (God it had been so long, he didn't even remember his name) brother advise, only vaguely remembering the thick twang in his voice. “ _Just learn to float._ ”

 

Sunny continued scribbling his answers, not even bothering to respond when the nudges continued.

 

***

 

In another room across the hall, Jade and Nerissa sat beside each other, the taller girl leaning far back into her wheelchair boredly as the day ticked towards lunchtime.

 

The teacher was a balding middle-aged man with a frayed jacket, writing up the lesson plan as he rambled on about history and literature and how Shakespeare influenced written and verbal language. The class had been equally disorganised, with at least three students falling asleep during the lesson and many more not bothering to write down notes on what the teacher (Mr Carver) was rambling on about.

 

Nerissa simply wrote down a few bullet points. She's heard this song and dance at least a hundred times before. Moving around a lot meant she had attended quite a few schools in her day, and without fail the teachers would start every English lesson with a spiel on 17th century literature – if only to ignore her questions on Dumas.

 

Jade, on the contrary, was writing everything down like her life depended on it. The last time she had been to school was over a hundred years ago and back then her class had been taught in a 10x10 clapboard schoolhouse by a fifteen year old who hadn't even finished her own education. All this talk of Shakespeare, Melville, and Dickens was completely new to her and it was both trilling and terrifying to try and catch up with all of it.

 

By the end of the lesson Mr Carver was winded and sweating from his brow, looking like he had just run a marathon. “And what can we uh... take from Shakespeare's influence in literature as whole?” He asked the class, gaining disinterested stares and groans. His face and hands fell in defeat, looking positively hurt by the lack of an initial response.

 

Jade's hand shot up just as another girl's did, answering enthusiastically. “He revitalised the tragedy genre and introduced many aspects of the English language.”

 

The teacher's eyes widened and he stumbled over his words, not expecting an actual answer. “Oh! Uh... yes! Thank you Miss Dreemurr.”

 

Jade smiled wide, ignoring how the girl in front of her gave her a spiteful glare.

 

Mr Carver left for a few minutes for an “air break” but the cigarettes in his pocket told a different story, leaving the class to their own devices for the rest of the lesson. Predictably the class fell into organised chaos and everyone busied themselves by talking with other classmates or hurling balled up fists of paper at each other.

 

Nerissa had resumed talking with the student next to her – a type of rose monster with petals for hair and leaves for clothes – and went into an energetic conversation about dancing and the arts.

 

“I hope there's a dance class...” The rose monster (Basile their name was) mused dreamily, brushing petal-like hair away from their green face. “My family are from Waterfall and we _never_ had anything like that.”

 

“I've been to ballet since I was a babe.” Nerissa informed them, unsure whether she would brag or curse her experience. “It's kinda hard but it's real fun once you get used to it.” She subconsciously ran her hands across her knees, feeling the rough outline of her casts.

 

Basile looked at the human girl's legs and hummed in thought. “Hmm. Might be. Then again I'd also like to check out the art club. I hear they do a really cool art history projects.”

 

“Yeah that might be better for me. 'Specially considering the obvious.” Nerissa agreed, not wanting to think to much about her legs and how they kept aching whenever she moved them now. She had always been a dance kid and not being able to participate in some form of it made her feel uncomfortable.

 

Coughing awkwardly she turned to Jade, who had been editing her hastily written notes, and asked. “What extra classes do you think would be worth going to?”

 

Jade looked up from her notes and answered. “There's a book club I want to try out. You know, read a book and discuss it with others. I think that would be nice. I haven't read a lot of the ones Mr Carver talks about so it'll be fun.”

 

The girl in front of Jade snorted. She had long brown hair with strips of blonde running through it and bright blue eyes. She laughed in a haughty manner. “No body actually reads anything in there!”

 

“Oh...” Jade deflated slightly, actually hoping that the club would be worth going to. “I was just looking for a nice elective to do. A reading club would have been nice.”

 

The other girl pulled a plastic compact and tube of gloss from her bag and began applying it while saying. “It's good though! We get to do anything we want!” She made a popping sound with her lips and replaced the gloss with glittery nail varnish. “We talk about music, give each other makeovers, and you know... chill!”

 

Jade still felt disappointed and made her opinion known. “Seems odd that you would apply for a club built on reading and not do so.”

 

The girl stared at her like she was crazy and replied in a condescending tone. “And _who'd_ even want to read those old man books?”

 

“I would.”

 

“God you have no sense of fun do you?” The girl sighed and put away her makeup, looking at Jade with a critical stare. “You could look nice if you put a little makeup on. A little blush and eyeliner maybe.”

 

“No thank you. I like my face as it is.” Jade protested, feeling a little uncomfortable. Back in her day, women wore makeup mainly to hide pock marks and to attract men. And she certainly had no need for that. Still she figured it was any person's choice whether to wear makeup for any reason, be it for cosmetics or for personal image.

 

The girl pouted and stomped her foot lightly. “C'mon! I can bring you to the club on Monday. Give you a toner and concealer.” She unexpectedly grabbed the length of hair sitting on Jade's shoulders. “Definitely get rid of this ratty braid.”

 

Jade slapped the girl's hand away, feeling violated. “Please do not touch my hair.” She commanded, using every bit of willpower to hold back her anger.

 

The girl made a noise as if she had been scandalised and complained. “It's just hair! I don't see what's so special about yours! 'Sides...” She trailed off, an impish sneer on her face. “It looks dirty.”

 

Jade felt that insult pierce right through her. She ran her finger through her wiry hair, feeling the insult right down to her core. It was always the default for some people. That she was unclean, or that she smelled of harsh spices, or that her skin could only be that dark because she was _dirty_.

 

“I bet it _smells_.”

 

“She's perfectly fine.” Nerissa butted in, a dangerous scowl on her face. “Maybe you're all ditzy from all the bleach going to your brain but the only dirty thing I'm seeing is that shit coming out of your mouth.”

 

The girl looked shocked, whether from the insult or the unexpected swearing, and simply stayed quiet until Mr Carver returned a minute later.

 

“SIR!!!” She exclaimed shooting up her hand like she had the answers to the universe. “Nerissa swore at me!!!”

 

“Not now Dakota...” Mr Carver groaned, slumping back into his chair, the faint of smell of tobacco smoke following him. “I can't prove that she swore.”

 

“BUT SIRRRR!!!” She whined in a pitch more suited to a canine, her face growing red.

 

Surrounding children covered their ears as this girl continued to whine and scream. Her makeup not surviving the onslaught.

 

“Do you think she does this every class?” Jade signed to Nerissa and Basile, trying to protect both ears.

 

“Only when someone doesn't agree with her.” Basile signed back, sepals stretching to cover their head. “So everyday.”

 

As Dakota began kicking her desk, Mr Carver leaned back in his seat and sighed, realising that he had just opened the gates of hell and he would have to beg on his hands and knees so the girl's parents didn't jump down his throat.

 

***

 

Momoko sat in his seat chewing on the end of his pencil.

 

“Now can anyone tell me what the word “cyclone” means?” The teacher asked the class, a million dollar smile spread across his face.

 

Mr David was a teacher who still acted like he was fresh from the academy and seemed to be both delighted and annoyed to be teaching second grade. He had spent most of the lesson dipping his toes into how much the kids knew and from where he was now; he had vastly overestimated the knowledge and attention span of seven to eight year olds. The class was in a whirlwind of talking, movement and the occasional paper ball fight, none of them wanting to answer the same questions over and over.

 

“A system of winds rotating inwards to an area of low pressure.” Momoko mumbled to himself, drawing on the edges of his notepad. Tan sat beside him, barely able to keep still as he was so excited just to be there.

 

“No one?” Mr David offered, looking around the loud classroom with a non-threatening smile. He made a quick note and determined. “Okay, so not that one.”

 

“What are you drawing?” Tan asked, looking over at Momoko's notes. “Looks cool.”

 

The younger boy instinctively moved to cover his drawing, panicking before realising who'd asked. His drawings were of particularly nothing. Maybe one or two were of fish and lizards but most were of the usual fare. He finished drawing sunglasses on the moon and answered. “Things.”

 

“Oh. Okay!” Tan smiled, any answer would have been satisfying for him. “Have fun.” He returned to his daydreaming, looking happy just to be awake and moving.

 

Momoko appreciated that he didn't press the issue. He was a good friend like that. Most people who saw Momoko drawing bothered him incessantly, often until they made him draw them something. Didn't matter if it were an adult or another child, apparently the novelty of a child who enjoyed drawing attracted a lot of attention. He began a rough sketch of two figures and tried to see if he had a red pencil.

 

“Can anyone tell me what “tempest” means?” Mr David asked, looking far more annoyed than he did at the start of the lesson. So he decided to single out a student to answer. “Tan!”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Tempest.”

 

“1981. Atari.”

 

Mr David got a strained look on his face and he asked again. “ **Define** tempest.”

 

“Um...” Tan stumbled to remember the actual meaning of the word. “Windy?”

 

“Close enough!” Mr David clapped his hands together in emphasis before moving onto a new word from his thesaurus. He asked the class again. “Define “turbulence”.”

 

Most of the class put their hands up, giving the teacher a little relief. As he seemed to be getting into a good rhythm, Momoko turned his attention back to his drawings. Until he felt someone poking his side. He turned to see a small girl about his age leering over his arm to look at his notepad.

 

“What are you drawing?” She asked, sitting on her knees and letting her brown hair fall onto his desk.

 

Momoko tried to cover his drawing but the girl pulled at his arm until he gave up and showed her. “It is me and my moms.” He felt like shoving it at her but knew better since shoving things at people tended to make them not like you.

 

“Why is that lady a fish?”

 

“She just is.”

 

“Why is that one a lizard?”

 

“She just is.”

 

“Where's the daddy?”

 

“There is none. Just moms.” Momoko felt annoyed more than an eight year old should be. He supposed this would have been acceptable from a four year old but this girl kept asking questions like she didn't know when to stop.

 

“Why isn't there a daddy?”

 

“Never was one.”

 

“That's sad. Make one.” The girl tried tossing the drawing back at him. The piece of paper fluttered helplessly onto the ground and Momoko picked it up before it could be stepped on.

 

“No. There is no dad because they are my moms.” He explained, straightening out the drawing with care. “And I have no dad.”

 

“That's so sad!” The girl looked close to crying, her eyes puffy and red for no discernible reason.

 

“No it is not.”

 

“It is! My mommy says kids with no daddies grow up to be rug pushers and criminals!” She said with infallible confidence only known to children. “And my Auntie Linda says kids with no daddies are baste-ers or something.”

 

Momoko gave her a scowl and returned to his drawing, not wanting to put up with her nonsense.

 

“Momo!” Mr David suddenly asked, making the boy jump. “Define “upset”.”

 

“T-to make someone angry or sad. Or move something.” The boy answered shakily, hiding his drawing under his arms.

 

Mr David didn't reply to confirm his answer. Instead he stood ramrod stiff, looking down at Momoko's desk. Slowly he asked. “Momo. What's under your arms?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“It's a drawing sir!” The girl exclaimed, grabbing the drawing from underneath him and holding high above her head like it was damning evidence. “He drew two moms but no daddies!”

 

Mr David clenched his fist and breathed in deeply, trying not to blow a fuse. He had been slaving away to his class all week only to be met with a little kid who did nothing but draw while he was teaching. “Thank you Nevaeh.” Taking the drawing from the girl he began. “Now children I hope you know that drawing in the middle of class is forbidden because Momo here sure didn't.”

 

The class nodded. Most of them looked towards Momoko with pity on their faces. Tan looked around quizzically, trying to find what was suddenly so interesting.

 

“Momo. I'm not sure what they teach you in China or whatever, but here we don't draw when our teachers are talking.” Mr David held the drawing roughly before beginning. “Define “disobedient”.”

 

“N-not following orders.” Momoko answered, his voice and body shaking.

 

“Lazy.”

 

“Unwilling to work.”

 

“Stupid.”

 

“Lacking knowledge or thought.”

 

“And what do all these have in common?” He asked with that million dollar smile. “You.” He rumpled up the drawing and tossed it into the trash bin. He looked victorious as the class had quieted down and he continued his lesson, million dollar smile regained. “Now class, who can tell me the definition of “blizzard”?”

 

Momoko look down at his desk, not want to look up at his teacher less his blood boil. Tan wanted to comfort him and maybe pat him on the back but he knew Momoko was someone who preferred to stew away at his anger instead of looking for support. With this in mind Tan stood up from his seat and walked over to the trash bin.

 

Mr David noticed immediately and barked. “Tan! What are you doing out of your seat?”

 

Tan said nothing and picked up the discarded drawing, carefully straightening it out before walking back to his seat and placing it on Momoko's desk.

 

Momoko stared blankly at the other boy. Tan was still smiling wide like what he did wasn't a great show of defiance.

 

Mr David was about to say something. Maybe shout. Maybe curse. Maybe explode. Maybe say that he saw the error of his ways. Either way the bell drowned him out and the children spilled from the classroom like a flood, dragging both “trouble” children with them.

 

“Why did you do that? We are going to get in trouble when we get back.” Momoko asked the younger boy, clutching the drawing close to his chest.

 

“I don't like bullies.” Tan said, taking Momoko by the hand and walking them towards the lunch area. “I don't care how big they are.”

 

Momoko kept feeling himself shake. With tears threatening to stream from his eyes he tucked the drawing into his coat pocket, not wanting to risk losing it again.

 

***

 

It was now lunch time for the first graders.

 

And Olive hadn't stopped crying since they'd left.

 

Not a tantrum or continuous wailing, but more like soft hiccups and sniffs that were often too quiet to hear. The other children looked concerned at first but mostly ignored her since she hadn't bothered talking to anyone.

 

Olive was used to this. Olive knew no one cared.

 

Now it was lunch time and instead of going out to the eating area like the other grades, the first graders stayed inside their classroom, throwing their boxes of snacks and goodies all over their shared tables. The teacher and the teacher's aide made sure to patrol the room for litterers and mess makers.

 

Olive opened up her lunch box to find a small tupperware container of spaghetti and meatballs, a leftover pancake folded in it's own compartment alongside a box of apple juice. A sticky note was pressed onto the inner lid.

 

ENJOY YOUR MIDDAY FEASTINGS

-The Great Papyrus

 

Olive bit into the pancake like it was sandpaper even though she knew it tasted great because Papyrus had made it and everything he made tasted nice (at least to her). But she hadn't seen him or Ton-ton since this morning and what if they'd forgotten her? What if they decided that they didn't like her and that there were better kids? What if they got hurt and wouldn't come back? What if they didn't come back at all?

 

The teacher's aide (a kind soft woman named Gloria) was the first to notice that something was wrong with the girl. She walked up to her slowly before sitting close by and asking. “Are you all right sweetie?”

 

Olive burst into tears. Half chewed pancake choking her as she breathed in sharply, making her cries even harsher.

 

Miss Gloria swooped in and began patting the girl's back, trying to soothe her. “There there sweetie. It's all right, Just tell me what's wrong and I can fix it.”

 

“Want Pap- _hic!_ ” Olive attempted to say “Papyrus” but was unable to finish when she was cut off by another sharp hiccup. “Want _hic_ Ton-ton. _Hic!_ ”

 

Miss Gloria got this sympathetic look on her face before taking Olive by the hand and walking to the front of the classroom. She whispered something to the teacher (Mrs Yates) before leaving the class with Olive in tow.

 

The hallway was packed to the brim with students going to the canteen and outside eating areas. Olive felt crushed by the sheer amount of people rushing past and closing in on her. She whimpered with her face pressed against Miss Gloria's leg until they reached a room off to the side of the reception area. It looked like an interview room and the walls blocked out most sound from the outside. The woman smiled and gestured to her to sit down on the chair across from a teacher's desk.

 

Miss Gloria looked through the registry before finding the number she was looking for. She knew exactly what kids like Olive needed in times like this.

 

On the other side of town, Papyrus's phone rang.

 

He answered happily, having just spent the last few hours or so having a nice slow drive around the neighbourhood. The breeze was so nice and the sun so warm, he couldn't pass it up.

 

“HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS SPEAKING.”

 

The woman on the other end seemed taken aback by his volume and replied. “Oh! Yes, Mr Gaster right?”

 

“INDEED!” He confirmed, deciding to park at the side of his street in case he became distracted from driving and he had no intentions of becoming a bad driver any time soon. “HOW MAY I ASSIST YOU?”

 

“I'm Gloria Walker, I'm the teacher's aide for your child's class.” She explained, waiting for a response. “I tried contacting Mr Mettaton but he seems to be unavailable.”

 

“WHICH CHILD?”

 

“Olive. She's in first grade?”

 

“OH!” Papyrus exclaimed, realising who she was talking about. “YES INDEED! HOW IS SHE DOING? IS SHE HURT?” He asked the last part with a tone of urgency. She was still healing and it wasn't a stretch to worry about the bandages coming loose or the pain flaring up.

 

Miss Gloria soothed him by explaining. “No she's fine. Physically at the very least.” She lowered her voice to a whisper and confided. “I think she may be having a bit of separation anxiety.”

 

Papyrus nodded even though he knew that she couldn't see him. “OH MY! I REMEMBER WHEN I HAD THAT! I FELT TERRIBLE WHENEVER MY BROTHER LEFT FOR WORK. KICKING UP A STORM AND EVERYTHING.”

 

“Then you understand how Olive is feeling.” Miss Gloria was secretly glad that Papyrus understood what was happening as most parents who addressed the issue either didn't care or began hovering over their child at all times – not remedying the issue at all. “It's a little unorthodox but my experience tells me a phone call between parent and child helps elevate a lot of stress. Would it be okay if I pass you onto her?”

 

“OF COURSE!”

 

“Olive, sweetie it's for you.” Miss Gloria passed the phone to the girl, saying it in a way like she didn't know who was on the other line.

 

Olive, who for most of the call had been staring off into space, took the receiver and said nervously. “Bueno?”

 

“HELLO OLIVE!”

 

The girl gasped and blurted out. “Hello Papa!”

 

If the car hadn't been parked Papyrus would have surely crashed it. He wheezed, trying to hide the sheer shock of the answer. “A-ARE YOU DOING WELL? YOUR TEACHER SAID THAT YOU WERE FEELING A LITTLE DOWN.”

 

“I'm okay!” She reassured, sounding a millions times better already. “Where's Ton-Ton?”

 

“HMM?” Papyrus wondered for a second before remembering. “OH! METTATON HAD TO LEAVE EARLY FOR SOME SORT OF MEETING ABOUT HIS HOTEL. I THINK HE TURNED HIS PHONE OFF SO IT WOULDN'T INTERRUPT ANYONE.” He paused for a second, knowing deep down that if he were to stop the conversation now she'd leave the phone call still upset and anxious. “ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE ALRIGHT OLIVE? FIRST DAYS ARE ALWAYS STRESSFUL. BUT I KNOW THAT YOU ARE STRONGER THAN MINT!”

 

Olive giggled. “Mint?”

 

“IT _IS_ THE STRONGEST  FLAVOUR.” Papyrus felt something die inside of him when he made that silly joke. Perhaps Sans was right. Maybe he was turning into a horrid pun making skeleton. But all of that meant nothing when he heard hysterical laughter on the other side of the call. “ARE YOU STILL THERE?”

 

“Si!”

 

“OH THANK GOODNESS, I THOUGHT I SCARED YOU OFF.” He wiped his brow, pretending that he hadn't been worried. “I KNOW SCHOOL CAN BE A LITTLE SCARY BUT IT CAN ALSO BE FUN! I MEAN LOOK AT MYSELF AND METTATON, DO YOU THINK PERFECTION IS ATTAINED BY NATURE ALONE?”

 

“No...?” Olive answered carefully. She knew that Ton-ton and Papyrus were perfect. They always have been.

 

“OF COURSE IT IS! BUT PERFECTION IS A FICKLE FRIEND AND WE NEED KNOWLEDGE TO FUEL SAID PERFECTION. AFTER ALL, IF THERE WAS NO KNOWLEDGE, IS IT TRULY PERFECTION?” He preened before steering the conversation elsewhere. “AND YOU _ARE_ PERFECT. BUT REMEMBER, IF YOU'RE FEELING LONELY OR SAD, THERE IS NO HARM IN SAYING SO. CALL AND I WILL ANSWER IN A HEARTBEAT. WOULD YOU LIKE THAT?”

 

“Si!” Olive agreed, overjoyed that Papyrus thought of her so dearly. She decided to end the call by saying. “Love you Papa.”

 

The skeleton's heart melted and he replied back. “I... I LOVE YOU TOO TINY HUMAN.”

 

“Bye bye!” She passed the phone back to Miss Gloria and sat happily in her chair, her feet swinging wildly back and forth in sheer joy.

 

“DID I... did I do good?” Papyrus asked the teacher in the quietest voice possible, sounding particularly nervous.

 

Miss Gloria, who due to the skeleton's volume, had heard everything and confirmed with a beaming smile. “Yes you did. Better than you even realise.”

 

“Wowie...” Papyrus whispered, his soul feeling abnormally light yet heavy. “That's maybe _**too**_ good then. I'LL TRY BETTER NEXT TIME!”

 

Miss Gloria laughed, wondering how this skeleton had so much love to give.

 

***

 

Toriel's teaspoon clinked against the bottom of her cup as she stirred in the sugar.

 

Today had gone more smoothly than she could have ever imagined.

 

Her class had been apprehensive of course, most having never seen a monster up close before, but they quickly settled in when it became clear that the “scary monster” was simply a kind-hearted old lady who liked teaching. The students were as students should be, loud and rebellious, but they also showed a significant interest in monster history in general.

 

“Miss how long were monsters underground?”

“How old is the king?”

“What happened down there afterwards?”

“Did any monsters managed to stay on the surface?”

 

Toriel had laughed, flustered at how interested the whole class seemed to be. She had promised to answer their questions after lunch in compensation for learning about wordplay and language construction.

 

Perhaps she should speak to Principal Shrike about devoting an entire class to the subject.

 

“What is this I hear of my little Dakota becoming distressed?” Mrs Bouquet asked in a shrill tone, dunking her tea bag in for barely a second before tossing it away. “Floyd I thought you said that you would take care of her.”

 

Mr Carver downed his third cup of coffee and shook his head. “Wasn't anything too serious Diana, just a little in class argument.”

 

Mrs Bouquet looked somehow angrier at this response and barked back. “And you let her get so upset! Seriously Floyd do you even care that she might be traumatised by the whole ordeal?”

 

Mr Carver took an empathic sip from his empty mug. Deciding not to grace that question with an answer.

 

The female teacher continued, turning her attention back to Mr David and Mrs Evans who were already talking up a storm. “I had a real problem student today you know.”

 

“Of course you did...” Mr Carver muttered, turning on the coffee machine.

 

“I'm serious! You know your boy Hunter, Linda?”

 

Mrs Evans's eyes widened and she gasped. “Don't tell me something happened to him?”

 

“Something did!” Mrs Bouquet replied, clutching her mug like her story was the most scandalous in town. “He was helping this smaller boy, bless his heart, who couldn't for the life or money figure out the maths quiz. But the boy kept ignoring him and suddenly got very angry with him!”

 

“I hope you punished him at least!”

 

“I did! I did! I gave him in lunch detention. I would have given him the weekend but I thought that might be too harsh for the first week back.” Mrs Bouquet took a sip from her cup and mumbled. “Think I'm going soft.”

 

Mrs Evans crossed her arms and suggested matter of factly. “Hmm. Doesn't seem to be that good a punishment. Maybe after lunch you have him clean the chalk board and erasers?”

 

“An oldie but it still works!” Mrs Bouquet and Mrs Evans giggled, clinking their cups together.

 

Toriel continued enjoying her tea and lunch in peace. The first grade teacher and her aide sat next to her on the couch, both eating their own packed lunches and ignoring the gossip going around the group of teachers. Undyne and Asgore weren't there as they wouldn't properly begin teaching until Monday, though Undyne did do a couple more laps around the football field before leaving.

 

Mr David decided to interject with his own story. “I had a real show in class today. Two, right, two students kept disobeying me today. One was some spaz who couldn't keep still for a damn second, and the other was basket-case who was spending the whole lesson drawing!”

 

“Drawing!” Mrs Evans and Mrs Bouquet gasped scandalously, egging him on. “What did you do then?”

 

Mr David preened under the attention, swishing back his hair like he was describing a terrific feat. “Well I told them both off and threw the drawings into the trash. I thought that would be enough to get the message across.”

 

“They'll certainly think twice about drawing during class again, that's for sure.” Mrs Bouquet commented, nodding with the rest. She turned to the couch and asked. “Gloria, didn't you have a little trouble earlier?”

 

Gloria waved her hand dismissively. “Oh no! No trouble at all. Just one of the new children missing their parents. I let them have a short phone call and they just lit up afterwards.”

 

Toriel smiled. At least she knew someone had the students best interests in mind. She could tolerate a little water cooler chatter but the way these people went on and on about the tiniest infractions rubbed her the wrong way. Still, teaching could be a very stressful job and she supposed that they were merely expressing it through gossip.

 

Mrs Evans made a face like she had eaten a lemon. “You really shouldn't bend to their whims so easily Gloria. Why, if I had a nickel for every time a student asked to call their parents or to leave class for no good reason, I'd have a new car.”

 

The group of teachers let out a loud dry chuckle like she had said something unfathomably witty. It was eerily similar to how laughter sounds in the background of a television show.

 

“And that's not the worst of it! No!” She continued, adding another packet of sweetener to her tea. “I had to sub third today because Mrs Colt had to go to hospital or whatever, and this little girl was just so rude!”

 

“What happened?” Mrs Bouquet asked, begging for more.

 

“She suddenly wouldn't speak to me at all! No words, no sounds, not even peep. She kept trying to “sign” at me but I knew she wasn't deaf or an invalid or anything so I tried waiting for her to speak. Eventually I cut my losses and moved on. Not about to ruin my day over some special snowflake.” She looked for confirmation that her story was equally bad.

 

Toriel slammed her hand onto the coffee table. The whole room turned to stare at her.

 

The Queen breathed deeply before confirming. “Was this child's name Frisk?”

 

Linda's eyes darted around, looking for an explanation. She answered. “Yes?”

 

“May I ask, what is their last name?”

 

“Dree... murr.” Linda's confused look fell in one of horror as she connected the dots between “Frisk Dreemurr” and the new “Mrs Dreemurr”. She paused before scoffing very loudly. “Oh please! You can't expect me to believe she's _your_ daughter! I mean, look at the family difference!”

 

Toriel drew in a sharp breath and said in her most icy cold voice. “They are **my** child. They can not speak, they only use sign language. Nor are they female. They are simply they. I thought if you cared any bit for your work, you would have seen the obvious notes in their files. Either way, I fear I may have to report you to Principal Shrike for mistreating a disabled child.”

 

The room was instantly silent. Mrs Linda Evans stood still in the middle of the room, struck cold by the tone in the monster woman's voice. Before she could call her bluff, the bell rang and the teachers all filtered out into the halls, hoping that the second half of the day would be shorter than the first.

 

Toriel left the teacher's lounge with a bitter taste in her mouth. She knew now that she didn't care much for Mrs Evans and was glad that she wouldn't have to put up with her anymore than she had to.

 

At least she hoped.

 

***

 

The rest of the day went smoothly enough.

 

The Dreemurr children were surprised when Mrs Evans simply passed over them during a lesson on similes, unknowing that the teacher was still shaken from a royal talking to.

 

Sunny still served lunch detention but he didn't have to clean any chalkboards or erasers. Getting a fat 7/100 on the quiz and having his paper pinned on the wall next to the highest score in the class – Hunter Evans – was punishment enough. He spent the last half hour or so of class drawing a donkey's behind on the false 100/100.

 

Jade continued being a model student to Mr Carver, who was delighted to have someone actually interested in what he was saying for once. Every so often the girl in front of Jade would shoot her a look of disgust, immediately followed by Nerissa making a rude hand gesture and giving the girl a look that just dared her to say something.

 

Tan and Momoko were both made to stand in the corner for the rest of the class. Momoko found it not much of a punishment, but Tan kept twitching and fidgeting the longer he had to stand with his face to the wall. The girl (Nevaeh) who had blabbed about the drawing tried to say sorry for earlier but was met with silence on both sides.

 

Olive spent the rest of the day feeling much better but still missing everyone.

 

Toriel taught her class on basic monster history, gaining gasps and looks of wonder as she told the tale of how monsters came to be trapped within Mt Ebott. She left class that day feeling very pleased with herself, but worried about her children and how they faired in their own classes.

 

When the bell rang out the end of the long school day, they all regrouped at the entrance of school, feeling exhausted and drained. Papyrus pulled up in his convertible, holding out his arms so Tan and Olive could leap into them. Toriel almost doubled over with laughter when the force of the two children knocked the skeleton clean off his feet. Undyne rejoined them looking like she had just jogged the whole way to and from home, and likely did as her car was still in the parking lot where she had left it that morning..

 

With that they made their quick journey home, opening the door only to be greeted by multiple voices saying:

 

“Welcome home! How was your day?”

 

Just as everyone was settling down for the day, Sans noticed that he had a notification on Undernet.

 

He opened it and it said.

 

“ _Parent Teachers Association looking for new members._

_Meetings held at Mt Ebott Elementary between one and three o'clock every Saturday._

_Refreshments Welcomed._

_Note: You have to be living in the Mount Ebott area to join._ ”

 

Sans turned his phone off and went to greet Tori and the kids.

 

He was pretty sure that PTA meetings weren't his cup of tea.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally all the kids are in school, but is it what it's cracked up to be? There's a little bit of ableist language used by some characters, but please know that I do not condone the use of such language in polite society. I had fun writing the character motivations and little things like that. A lot of Frisk's habits are based on my own and the stuff with the other kids in class are based on my own experiences as a trans autistic kid. Please leave a review or comment and hopefully I'll update as quickly as possible. :D


	10. Adjustment

Saturday greeted everyone at the crack of dawn. Whether from a good long night of sleep or the anticipation of a new day, no one was willing to waste their weekend away in bed.

 

“snnnnn...”

 

Well maybe not _everyone_.

 

“SANS!” Papyrus shouted in vain, trying to rouse his brother. “IT'S MORNING – GET UP. WE HAVE SO MANY ERRANDS TO DO!”

 

“snnnnnnnn...” Sans continued to snore away. He had his beauty sleep interrupted enough the previous nights and had little intentions on interrupting it further – be it Saturday or the day of reckoning. “snnnnnnnn...”

 

“OH WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER?” He sighed and left the room seemingly defeated.

 

Sans cracked one eye socket open and chuckled to himself as he heard his brother walk through the halls to make sure the kids were awake. As he snuggled deeper into his blankets, he realised too late that his brother's footsteps were making a direct path to the smallest bedroom at the northern end of the hall.

 

Sans barely had enough time to brace himself when a weight in the shape of a nine year old child crashed down on top of him.

 

“Saaaannnnsss! You promised!”

 

“FORGIVE ME BROTHER. I WAS MADE AWARE THAT THEIR HIGHNESS IS ONE OF FEW ABLE TO WAKE YOU WITH LITTLE ISSUE.” Papyrus walked past the doorway with a smug look on his face as Chara sat on Sans's stomach. “ENJOY!”

 

“ugh.” Sans groaned and sank deeper into his blankets. He was pretty sure he had promised something the night before. What that something was he wasn't entirely sure. “promised what again?”

 

“Hey! No retreat!” Chara swatted at the skeleton, managing only a light tap to his covered dome. “You promised to take me shopping!”

 

Sans groaned once more. It had been through a pasta and leftover pizza dinner that the household came to the conclusion that they hadn't bought many groceries since they had moved in. Every previous meal had either been ordered in or was comprised of whatever was in their fridges before they left the Underground. And Sans was pretty sure a family of seventeen (“ _god it feels so weird to live with so many people._ ”) couldn't live off of leftovers and take-aways forever, less they incur the health-conscious wrath of Toriel and Undyne.

 

He hated waking up so early. But the kid wanted him to go so...

 

“ _sorry, old friend. I must leave you for now._ ” He thought mournfully, patting his pillow before raising himself to a sitting position. “alright kiddo. just let me get up.” He swung his legs off the bed, his toes barely touching the floor. “we need anything in particular?”

 

Chara sat on their knees and recited. “Baking stuff, canned stuff, frozen stuff, dry stuff, sweet stuff...”

 

“well that narrows it down.” Sans replied with sarcasm as he threw his trademark jacket and shorts over his nightclothes, not giving a darn if anyone noticed the pink pyjama shirt underneath. “how's the search?”

 

Chara crossed their arms and pouted. They had spent a good portion of the week searching for a certain type of chocolate and so far had come up empty handed. “Can't find the brand anywhere. The internet says it isn't popular anymore. Apparently it's “region specific” now or something.”

 

Sans had to laugh as the royal child continued to puff their cheeks and scowl. They reminded him of a younger Papyrus – pouting as he waited on the newest puzzle book to be delivered. He zipped up his jacket, hiding the pink pyjama shirt from any critical eyes. “don't sweat kid. I'll keep a socket out for it. heard they got fancy chocolate shops in town, might be in there for all we know.”

 

Chara immediately perked up at this. “Yeah! An other kid at school said there's a cool sweet shop in Old Town. Onwards!”

 

Again, Sans couldn't find it in his heart to say no as the child all but dragged him out the door and down the stairs. It was nice to be honest. He only really knew Chara from the backlash of different timelines and he preferred not to make that the default. So far he figured that he liked them, maybe because they reminded him far too much of his brother or of Tori in the way they talked or in their actions. A firecracker in flannel jammies.

 

“Mom?” Chara asked as they heard the sounds of eggs frying on a pan. “Is dad going to town with us?”

 

Toriel poked her head around the door separating the hallway from the kitchen and answered. “No dear. Your father is adamant on fixing up the garden before the weather worsens. The others may wish to come though.”

 

Sans allowed himself to be herded into the kitchen and into a chair as Chara wandered into the sitting room to ask whomever was available to go. A plate of eggs and tomatoes slid in front of him. Still bleary-eyed he only caught a glimpse of Toriel's smile as she quickly returned to her cooking. Sans could find no response but to smile back.

 

The kids were all in the front sitting room watching a loud dramatic cartoon, and from the sounds leaking out under the door that connected it to the kitchen – Alphys and Undyne were in there too. If the cries of “Go for the shins, they'll go down faster!” and “U-Undyne! They're just talking to their crush!” meant anything.

 

Papyrus walked down the stairs but paused when he reached the hallway door to the sitting room - obviously ensnared by the cartoon also.

 

Asgore could be seen outside, tearing up a system of dead bramble roots that the previous owners had allowed to overtake flowerbed. Asriel stood off to the side in his green rubber boots and straw hat, looking both amazed by their father's strength and horrified at the state of the garden.

 

Gaster was snoring away in a rocking chair, lazing the morning away under the shade of the back porch with the dog curled up at his feet. Sans envied him.

 

“Tea's ready!” Toriel called out the window as the kettle made a loud whistling sound, catching their attentions. She picked out a selection of mugs from the cupboard and in each placed a bag of tea. She turned and asked. “Sans, would you like one?”

 

“sure, hit me with your best pot.” He grinned as she giggled and poured him a cup. Sans wasn't even a tea drinker but he simply couldn't turn it down if offered.

 

Asgore and Asriel tumbled in seconds later, covered head to toe in dry soil and musty plant fibres. Toriel gave them a disapproving look before they remembered to wipe their feet on the floor mat. It took Gaster a solid minute to rise from his chair and follow them into the house, whatever bones he had left creaking with disuse.

 

“Good morning Sans. I hope you slept well?” Asgore nodded to the other man as he passed him his (appropriately skull-shaped) mug.

 

“I certainly did brew-tea-full.” Sans found himself instinctively winking at the king, only realising seconds later how the pun could be taken. He masked his blush with a sip of tea – finding it to be sweet and tart as opposed to dry or bitter like he usually found tea.

 

“Oh hush.” Asgore hummed, not fazed at all. He had endured enough of his wife's tea-related puns to last a lifetime. “You're the second person to use that pun this morning.”

 

Toriel placed down the rest of the plates with a cheeky grin. She then noticed Sans's confused look when he tasted the tea, providing. “Asgore mentioned that you didn't care much for golden flower, so I made sure that you got blackcurrant instead.”

 

Sans blinked and quietly thanked them both, a strange smile on his face.

 

Gaster and Asriel noticed this exchange. Similar thoughts went through both of their heads but neither wanted to say anything. Gaster prepared his coffee (he never drank tea a day in his life thankyouverymuch) and sent the king and queen suspicious glances. Asriel happily chugged away at his own blackcurrant tea (having gained a certain dislike for golden flower for obvious reasons) and decided not to press the issue.

 

Moments later the rest of the house filtered in, grabbing their own cups and plates.

 

Chara sat with their elbows on the table, barely drinking their tea. “Looks like it's just me, you, and Mom.”

 

“aww.” Sans replied in mock disappointment, honestly glad that he wouldn't have to keep check of all nine kids during the trip. “nobody else?”

 

The kids all shook their heads, all having their own plans for the weekend.

 

“I kinda wanna come.” Sunny piped up, still in his red long-johns. “But I don't know where'd we'd get fresh meat...”

 

“They sell fresh meat in stores now, bucko.” Sans explained, briefly forgetting that the eleven-year old came from a different time. “They sell 'em in the butcher and deli aisles.”

 

“Oh!” Sunny looked surprised by this knowledge. “Okay. That's cool. I thought stores only had canned stuff. Alright, I'll go.”

 

“Sweet.” Chara smiled cheekily. “Now we got someone who can actually reach the shelves.”

 

Sans sent them an exaggerated look of offence, his face breaking into a grin when the rest of the kids laughed at the remark. “That's a low blow even for you.”

 

“Don't worry Sans.” Frisk signed, a bit too tired to have a pun war this early in the morning. “It was a small jest.” Frisk paused when Sans's grin got wider, covering their face when they realised too late that they had unintentionally made a pun. Toriel was trying her best not to snort out a laugh as Asgore rubbed the bridge of his nose with an exasperated smile on his face.

 

Sans chuckled to himself.

 

He was a horrible influence on these kids.

 

“I'm going to take a long trek later.” Undyne announced, flexing her arms. She was already dressed for the day, a pair of sweatbands on her wrists and her hair tied into a tight ponytail. “I've fallen _way_ behind my regimen since I moved up here and I need to stay in shape if I'm going to be teaching the squirts at school.”

 

Alphys sat next to her, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “I'm going to be staying in today. I have a d-deadline for the new leg design. Company s-said that if the design goes through, they can begin m-marketing it.”

 

“THAT SOUNDS NEAT!” Papyrus commented, eating a bowl of hot porridge. “DOES THAT MEAN EVERYONE WILL HAVE SEXY LEGS LIKE METTATON?”

 

“God, I hope so.” Mettaton giggled, reminding the skeleton that he was sitting right next to him. Papyrus blushed and hid his embarrassed face behind his bowl. The robot turned back to the scientist and teased. “I don't suppose you'll design them with me in mind?”

 

“W-well not exactly.” Alphys explained, a small blush on her cheeks. “I have to market them to people who need them. A-although I guess it wouldn't hurt to make “Metta-legs” an option...” She went back to her breakfast, her train of thought heading elsewhere.

 

“Then do darling! I'll give it a little celebrity endorsement and they'll sell like hotcakes.”

 

“OR HOT LEGS IN THIS CASE.” The skeleton commented, face still hiding behind his bowl of porridge. “WHICH REMINDS ME; I NEED TO GO OUT TODAY. MTT-TOY BRAND RELEASED A NEW ACTION FIGURE OF METTATON AND I NEED TO SNAP IT UP BEFORE THE HOLIDAY SEASON ROLLS IN!”

 

“But you have the life-sized model right here!” Mettaton pointed to himself amusedly.

 

“NOT WHEN YOU'RE AWAY. DESPITE YOUR BEAUTY – TO WHICH NO VINYL COULD REPLICATE – IT'S DISHEARTENING WHEN YOU HAVE TO LEAVE FOR WORK. IT WOULD BE LIKE OWNING A 3-D PHOTOGRAPH OF YOU, EXCEPT SMALLER AND WITH ONLY A FRACTION OF YOUR TRUE PERSONALITY AND CHARM.”

 

The table became silent after this little speech, the adults looking at the skeleton curiously while the kids made the same faces they did whenever they saw something sappy on the television.

 

Mettaton got a strange look in his eyes and cooed. “Aww, sugar-skull! That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me!”

 

“HMM. THEN I HAVEN'T COMPLIMENTED YOU ENOUGH!” Papyrus replied with his usual vigour, and once the table was back to it's usual chatter he lowered his voice to a sudden whisper. “Also it's actually a gift is for someone else.”

 

“Who?” Mettaton whispered back, confused by why the skeleton would be so secretive.

 

“Olive. Her teacher called yesterday and said that she becomes very anxious when she's separated from the others. So I think at the very least a plastic toy of you would help.” Papyrus decided that for the moment he'd leave out the part where he was knighted with the title of “Papa” - not wanting to make Mettaton feel like he had competition.

 

“Oh dear!” Mettaton exclaimed, quickly lowering his volume back to a whisper. “Oh I just knew loading up my schedule like that would give me such little time with her! I should take the week off. Cancel my beauty appointment. Plan a trip away from work. If only to spend more time with her!”

 

“Now don't do anything foolhardy Mettaton. I've planned a little excursion for this very reason.”

 

“Oh?”

 

Papyrus gave him a nod and raised his voice to it's regular volume. “WHILST THE MAJORITY OF THE CHILDREN DO NOT WISH TO GO GROCERY SHOPPING – I THE GREAT PAPYRUS SUGGEST THAT WE TAKE THEM ON A NICE DAY OUT. IT IS FAR TOO SPLENDID A DAY TO BE COOPED UP INSIDE WATCHING CARTOONS ALL DAY!”

 

Alphys made an indignant noise and decided that would be exactly what she would be doing all day.

 

“That sounds like a good idea.” Toriel agreed, having spent the last few minutes wondering what the other children had planned for the weekend. “It would be nice to acquaint ourselves with the town while we have the time to.” She then turned her attention to Chara and Sunny, asking. “Would that be fine with you two? You can stay out with them all day if you like.”

 

“Nah.” Chara replied, twirling their fork through their eggs, making the plate a yolk-covered mess. “I really want to find my chocolate...”

 

Sunny shook his head and agreed. “I'll be fine. I don't want to be herding the little 'uns around all day.”

 

The smaller kids sent him a dirty look.

 

“Hey I'm older than you!” Jade argued, still in her nightclothes and slippers.

 

“Only by twenty-something chrono-logic years. I'm older than the rest of y'all by at least forty.”

 

“Twen-ty.” Olive disagreed, her face covered in egg and oatmeal. She then pointed to herself and Nerissa. “So I'm bigger than her.”

 

Nerissa scoffed into her orange juice. “Yeah, ain't gonna happen squirt.”

 

“SO!” Tan interrupted the squabbling, turning the attention back to the day ahead. “What are we gonna do today Paps?”

 

“OH! Um...” Papyrus stalled, actually not sure himself. “I DON'T KNOW, I DIDN'T THINK I'D GET THIS FAR. HOW ABOUT A WALK IN THE PARK? FOLLOWED BY SOME MISCELLANEOUS SHOPPING OF COURSE.”

 

“That sounds best.” Toriel nodded. “I also need to pick up some new books. Not for school I assure you, but more for leisure. The ones on my shelf are wonderful but I can only read _“101 Uses for Snails“_ over so many times. Hopefully I'll find something nice and entertaining whilst in town.”

 

“hey, I got a notice from the school earlier mentioning that there's a parent-teacher thing every saturday.” Sans suddenly remembered, if only because Toriel herself was a teacher. “don't you need to go to that? it's kinda in the name.”

 

Toriel's smile drooped as she too remembered. “Oh dear, you're right. Then again Principal Shrike says that it's non compulsory. Oh but missing the first meeting might not make the best first impression.” She looked worried, trying to hide how nervous she was of her first ever PTA meeting. It wasn't as though she hadn't experienced such meetings before (being Queen meant she had to solve a lot of territory disputes and conduct impromptu trials) but the fact that it would be the first in her new job, her new school, her new home, her new _world_.

 

Needless to say it was rather overwhelming even if she would never admit to it.

 

Sans picked up on her worry and offered. “I'll go with you. heavens forbid I do more than a single action a day.”

 

Papyrus and Undyne choked on their drinks, both trying their best to hold down braying laughter.

 

“Oh please Sans, you don't have to go for me.”

 

“don't have to but will.” Sans argued with a smirk on his face. “c'mon it'll be easy. we go out. we bring home the chocolate and whatnot. we head out and snooze through a few hours of gossip. we come home and sit on our butts for the rest of the weekend. sounds pretty good to me.”

 

“If you're serious...”

 

“how can I be Serious if I'm Sans?”

 

Toriel chuckled. “I certainly can't argue with that logic. But it will only be for today. I really hope to include myself in the community and the PTA meetings are one of the best ways to do so. I admit I'm rather well... concerned with how the other parents may think of us.”

 

“Tori, you're already teaching their children.” Asgore reassured her, taking her hand into his. “If they can trust you with that, they can trust you with their very lives.”

 

“and if they don't, then I'll ask them to just _try_ to find someone better.” Sans said with an air of blunt honesty. “they've got nothin' on you.”

 

Toriel smiled and moved her free hand to hide her blushing cheeks.

 

Gaster found himself hiding a knowing grin behind his mug.

 

***

 

It was shortly before ten in the morning that it was decided who was going where. Papyrus was surprised that only about half of the children wished to go. The others seemed adamant on being elsewhere.

 

“Can I go with Auntie Undyne?” Tan asked excitedly, bouncing on the tips of his toes. He flexed his barely-there muscles in emphasis. “I wanna get strong like her!”

 

“Oh I'm “Auntie” now am I? Yesterday I was Miss.” Undyne teased the boy, ruffling his hair as he laughed with her. “Hmm. I guess it'll be a little more fun with a hiking buddy. Think you can keep up kiddo?”

 

“Yep!”

 

“Then get ready. I want to squeeze at least a mile of out you before lunch.”

 

“AYE AYE CAPTAIN!” Tan saluted in a manner - and volume - more suited to Papyrus. He sprinted upstairs, crashing around as he tried to find the perfect work-out clothes.

 

Asriel and Jade decided to stay home. The young prince wanted to spend the afternoon with his father – an answer which made Asgore's heart ache from happiness. Jade on the other hand simply had no energy to go out that day. She was obviously tired and wanted nothing more than to curl up somewhere and read a good book.

 

Toriel nuzzled both of their faces and assured. “We'll be home in a few hours. If you need anything from town you can ask.”

 

Jade's hand ghosted over the side of her face where Toriel had nuzzled her, the feeling foreign yet warm. “I would like a few books too if that wouldn't be a bother. There's a writer from my time named Jules Verne and I would like a book by him if you could find it. I'm not sure if he's popular anymore though...”

 

Toriel smiled, not wanting to tell the girl just yet how popular the author was. “I'll make sure to find you one. Certainly there would be at least one of his works in the book store.” She gave the girl another nuzzled kiss to the cheek, wondering how she could still be so surprised by them despite receiving one each morning.

 

Tan barrelled down the stairs seconds later wearing a bright pink shirt with a red heart over the front, a pair of tangerine shortalls partially obscuring it. “I'M READY AUNTIE!”

 

“NICE! You look so cool!” Undyne encouraged, already psyched up. “C'mon hop on my back! I'll get us to the trail head! We've got miles of woods to cover!”

 

“YES!” Tan leaped onto Undyne's back, barely having enough time to secure his arms around her neck before she sprinted off the porch and down the street heading to Uptown.

 

As they disappeared from view, Papyrus hummed worriedly. “I FEAR UNDYNE MAY BE FEEDING INTO MY SON'S ADRENALINE HABIT. HONESTLY I SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING.”

 

“How so?” Toriel asked, more amused than concerned.

 

“HE TRIED SUPLEXING ME WHEN I AWOKE HIM FOR BREAKFAST.”

 

Gaster had decided to do his own thing for the day. Having little responsibilities beyond making sure his machines didn't consume the house meant that he had a lot of free time to worry about. Frisk held tightly onto Gaster's bony hand, simply explaining that they wanted to join him in his wander around the neighbourhood.

 

“I have no idea why.” Gaster admitted, looking surprised by Frisk's insistence to go. “I'm just going to have a stroll around Old Town. Talk to our neighbours. Maybe have lunch at a cafe, you know boring old man things...”

 

Sans looked at him suspiciously, knowing fully well that his father was a wily old skeleton when he wanted to be. “okay... make sure not to tire yourself out. some of the streets are kinda steep and you're still recovering from the whole “being ripped apart by the space time continuum” thing.”

 

“Oh don't worry about me! I've already taken a stroll or two before, it isn't too tiresome. And perhaps Frisk would enjoy a hot chocolate during lunch?” Gaster said the last part with a tinge of mischief, immediately catching the queen's attention.

 

“Just make sure they don't have too much sugar.” Toriel warned, knowing that the former royal scientist had an infamous sweet tooth. “There is going to be a fine home-cooked meal tonight so I don't want them filling up on sweets.”

 

“Of course Your Majesty.”

 

“SEE YOU IN A FEW HOURS FATHER!” Papyrus called back, already loading the kids into his car. “I'LL BE SURE TO FIND THAT CHOCOLATE YOU LIKE!”

 

Chara's eyes widened and they whined, running down the garden to the convertible. “Hey! How come you're looking out for his and not mine?”

 

“IT'S THE SAME BRAND.”

 

“It's the principle of the thing!”

 

Toriel laughed at the exchange and commented. “It seems I may need to double the chocolate larder with you and Chara warring for it.”

 

Gaster looked away bashfully and quickly changed the subject. “I wish you and my son luck at the meeting today. A few of our neighbours are long time members and they've assured me that it has a very relaxed atmosphere.”

 

“That's certainly a relief.” The queen sighed, her concern only slightly quelled. “We'll see you in a few hours and please be sure not to stay out too long.”

 

“No promises.” Frisk signed, gaining a chuckle from their mother.

 

Toriel nuzzled Frisk's cheek one last time before leaving. “Goodbye dear. And goodbye to you too Wind Dings.”

 

“Goodbye!” Gaster and Frisk waved from the porch even as Toriel and the rest of the posse loaded into the family car and drove slowly away from the house.

 

Making sure that the cars were at a safe distance, they quickly dropped the facade and smiled deviously to each other.

 

“Ice cream?” Gaster signed, not wanting to alert the others to their plans.

 

“Ice cream!” Frisk signed back enthusiastically, excited to finally have time to get a cone. And maybe have a nice one-on-one chat with their dear Gramp-ster.

 

***

 

Asgore chuckled to himself as Gaster and Frisk sneaked out for ice cream. He had been aware of their ploy from the start. He should know; having pulled the same trick hundreds of times before with his own children.

 

The mid-morning sun was blaring down from the east, casting the back garden in a light shadow that warned of the hot afternoon to come. It was better that they fix up the garden now before the heat became unbearable or before any wind picked up.

 

Toby the Dog had yet to move from his place under the shaded porch, his only movements being his frequent trips inside to lap up cool water before resuming his busy task of sleeping.

 

“Whew!” Asgore huffed, dragging up the last of the dead brambles from the flowerbed, now only having the living stems to take care of. The damage done to the garden was substantial, far worse than anything that may have overtaken one in the Underground. “The previous owners must have left the patch to grow unattended for years. I never seen an infestation this bad before.”

 

He wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his glove, regretting not dealing with this particular patch of bramble first.

 

“Don't they give fruit sometimes?” Asriel stepped forward, clearing the leaf litter away with a chunky plastic pitchfork (Asgore would never let the kids near a sharp metal one) into a green waste bag.

 

“Only once every two years.” The king explained, cutting through the fleshy green root with a pruning tool. “They're actually the same plant as the blackberry, but wild. Unfortunately they can become a real nuisance since they grow fairly quickly.” He yelped as a stray thorn pricked the exposed area of his wrist, quickly drawing his hand away from the plant. “The thorns of course are a hazard.”

 

Asriel nodded and wondered if he should fetch bandages just in case the brambles caused anymore injuries. He looked around the back garden in wonder. It was fairly large, almost as big as the courtyard back in New Home, save for the sunlight and the six foot tall wooden fences that separated it from the side street and the vast expanse of meadow that was too uneven for any neighbours to build on. The house itself sat on a corner, meaning that they only had one neighbour to worry about – a pair elderly gentlemen with whom Gaster had found fast friends in.

 

The flowerbeds ran alongside the fence before meeting again at the front of the house and merging with the hedges. The plan was to dedicate the front of the garden to ornamental flowers and shrubs while the back would be used to grow herbs and maybe the odd vegetable. An old dormant cherry blossom tree dominated the centre of the back garden, it's wide branches and sturdy wood just begging to be adorned with a tree house or a swing.

 

The back of the garden held a wide ornamental pond, only run off from rain and morning dew keeping it from going stagnant. A small tool shed sat in the far corner, infested with spiders and centipedes. Asgore had warned the children not to play around in there so to avoid angering Muffet and her large arachnid family – perhaps he should consider evicting the tenants so he could retrieve his gardening tools in peace.

 

Still in this half-dazed state of wonder, Asriel found himself staring straight upwards – facing the back of the garden.

 

“One of the easiest ways to manage them is...” Asgore cut his ramble short, noticing the strange far off look in his son's eyes. Placing a hand on his shoulder he asked softly. “What has caught your attention?”

 

“It's kinda of ominous huh?”

 

“What is?”

 

“ **It.** ”

 

Asgore was about to ask him to elaborate when he too was distracted by the sight; It's dark face and snowy cap blocking the western skies from view. It's sheer mass causing the clouds to warp around it less they be ripped in twain by its peak.

 

Mt Ebott.

 

It was closer than Asgore had originally thought – barely ten minutes on the rough dirt road (and an additional two hours if you were brave enough to climb upwards) that signified the end of their neighbourhood and by extension: all civilisation. The change from tree-lined and worn brick sidewalks ended abruptly when you reached the end of the street next to the new royal residence. Asphalt became coarse gravel and clusters of homes turned into massive empty fields of grass that continued on until you reached the forest. The Mountain presided over Ebott like a resting guardian, filling in the gap between multiple ranges and plateaus that scarred the coastline. It's twisting paths and insurmountable rocks shielded the small town from the outside world whilst it's thick forests and heavy snowfall discouraged it's people from overtaking it. Truly a staunch figure in local history.

 

At the moment however, from their garden in Old Town, it was an uninvited neighbour.

 

An unwelcome reminder.

 

“Oh yes.” Asgore coughed nervously, trying not to show any weakness or fear to his son. “It is very ominous indeed. Though it is very inspiring.”

 

“How?” Asriel asked, breaking his gaze from the horizon.

 

“Well... we're out here are we not?” He stumbled, trying to find the right words. “That's something I thought I would never be able to say.” There was an odd pause before he continued. “And I suppose if I'm able to say that I, a hundred-something year old monster, has breathed fresh air and felt the warm sun for the first time, perhaps I am able to do even greater things tomorrow. Does that make any sense?”

 

Asriel kicked at the leaf litter. “I guess...” He stood deep in thought, clearly thinking hard about something. Something that he could find no answer to. “Dad?”

 

“Yes son?”

 

“Did you expect to live so close to the Mountain? Even after everyone was set free?”

 

The king was stumped yet again, to answer that question would be creating a hundred more. So he tried to explain in the simplest way he could. “Not exactly. When I was young I was convinced that the first thing I would do would be to find the farthest point from Home and stay there. But I have decided since then that I shall go where my people are. Even if _where_ happens to be the shadow of the mountain.”

 

The prince looked rather confused by this and pressed on. “Why? Don't you ever want to get away from Mt Ebott?”

 

Asgore blinked and noticed the odd worry in his son's eyes. It was a familiar look of fear. “Asriel...” He began carefully, not wanting to scare him. “Have _you_ thought of being away from Mt Ebott?”

 

“Yeah.” Asriel's reply was blunt, the fear in his eyes replaced with one of guilt. “I did a lot of bad things when I was gone... Looking at the mountain sometimes reminds me of it.”

 

The king sighed. “I understand how you feel.”

 

Asriel blinked at him in confusion.

 

“I have done horrible things in the name of the Underground, that's something I can not change.” Asgore continued with sorrow in his voice. He closed his eyes to prevent the sadness from escaping. “The problems of many are because of me. Because I was afraid. Because I was short-sighted. And most of all, because my anger outweighed my reason. I will bare the weight of such mistakes for the rest of my days. That's something not a lot of people can accept.”

 

The prince looked a bit misty-eyed as he said. “It's... it's a really hard feeling to be okay with...” He rubbed at his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, making his eyes look red and tired. “I... I know Chara and Frisk and all the others forgive me for what happened but... I don't know if... **I** forgive me.”

 

“I'm not sure if I forgive myself either.” Asgore admitted, bringing his son into a tight hug as they both tried to hold down tears. “Frisk and the rest of the children certainly forgive me. I doubt your mother will ever truly forgive me and I do not blame her... But I'm afraid that I won't be able to accept what I've done. And somehow knowing that makes it a little easier to move on and amend.”

 

Asriel replied by hugging his father tighter and letting his tears fall freely. Asgore placed a hand on his son's back, allowing him to release whatever emotions he had tempered down. Asriel was an emotional young lad and in the past had exploded from anger simply because he felt that showing so much sadness or fear was “childish” of him. It was far better that he let all the badness out now before he bottled it up and hid it away.

 

They stayed like that for a while before Asriel suggested with a wavering voice. “Hey Dad? You think... after we finish with the brambles, we can maybe play a game of catch?”

 

Asgore's breathing hitched and he too let his tears fall freely.

 

***

 

“Auntie it's so big out here!” Tan exclaimed, arms thrown upwards towards the near endless ceiling of the outside, his voice echoing off the trees. He was bouncing with excitement, his hair wind-swept from the journey.

 

“I know it's so cool!” Undyne agreed, her mind racing with how much room there was on the trail. Even from the trail head with it's small outpost of bathrooms and picnic tables, she could look in any direction and not see a single sign of civilisation. “We're so far away from town, it's crazy!”

 

The abundance of trees reminded her of Snowdin Forest but that was where the similarities ended. Whereas Snowdin Forest was cold and silent, Mt Ebott Woods was warm and noisy with the heat of the sun and the calls of hundreds of creatures that called it home.

 

“Which path do you think we should take bud?” She asked, reading the map posted at the trail head, each path designated by a colour. Some lead further into the woods, some looped around before heading back into town, two were old horse trails used to pass safely into the next town, and the bright green “Scenic Route” lead upwards until it reached a point on the mountain that ended with a great vantage spot. Undyne silently pondered which path she and the other monsters had taken when they left the Underground as such details didn't seem so important at the time.

 

Tan hummed in thought, his finger lingering on the red “Historic” route before he decided on the green trail. “Scenic!”

 

“Really?” Undyne asked, the idea of going **up** the mountain not appealing to her. “Don't you want to go on an easier one? I mean it's three miles, that's like an hour each way. That might be a little too much for a first hike.”

 

“Scenic!” Tan repeated getting more and more excited at the prospect of seeing deeper into the woods. “There's so much cool stuff in the woods Auntie! I want to see all of it!”

 

Undyne found herself sighing in resignation, a gesture that had come recently to her since knowing Papyrus and his boundless energy. It seemed that the CrabApple didn't float far from the tree. Tan was a good kid, but he was also very young and had yet to learn his own limits – Undyne didn't want to accidentally push him to his breaking point. “Alright then. But no whining when your feet fall off.”

 

“That's okay! If my feet fall off then I can walk with my hands!” Tan said with confidence, already making his way to the trail. “C'mon Undyne!”

 

“Whatever you say Captain.” She gave him a joking salute, deciding that if anything happened during their trek she'd rush them back home in an instant. Or god forbid fight off whatever they come across.

 

The hike was rather eventful to say the least. Undyne had only seen a fraction of what was in the woods and yet Tan acted as though he had never seen the outside before. Every five minutes or so they were interrupted by the appearance of an unfamiliar plant or creature. They both got a good laugh when a curious butterfly perched itself on Undyne's shoulder, giving the former knight a such a fright as to pull a spear from her inventory as if there were a deadly enemy. The butterfly fluttered off, none too amused by the bright blue weapon pointed at it's face.

 

The trail got steeper about half an hour in where the leaf litter began to thin out and the trees became skinnier. They were heading straight up after all, and if the map was correct the path would lead them to an area that had a great view of the valley below. There were a few old rusted signs along the trail warning travellers of a “deep pit” that was reachable through the trail and had a few cryptic hints about what happened to those who seek it out. A pit in Undyne's stomach told her exactly what it meant and wondered if the same pit was the one in the Ruins back Underground.

 

About half way through the trail, Undyne started noticing something was a little off about the squirt.

 

Tan was smiling and happy as ever, but his face was red, he was drooping slightly, and his water bottle seemed like it had not been opened during the entire trip. Even the distance he was trying to put between him and his chaperone was odd, it was like he was trying to splinter away from her and go his own route.

 

“Hey bud...” She broke the silence, slowing her pace. “You want to take a break? Catch a breath or two?”

 

“Nope!” He replied back, somehow magically rejuvenated. His pace quickened and he began all but sprinting up the incline, gravity the only force keeping him from going mach speed.

 

“Hey! Slow down squirt! You're gonna burn yourself out running like that!” She rushed after him, finding the incline to prove much more a challenge to her as a taller adult.

 

Tan shouted back. “I'm gonna make it to the top!”

 

“You won't if you don't slow down!”

 

The conversation went back and forth for what seemed like ages. Undyne was slowly losing her ability to keep up with the kid as the path got more and more rugged with rocks and gravel lining the way. During all this Tan continued to race forward, ignoring how much his body protested.

 

“I can make it!” He proclaimed to the heavens, his face and clothes soaked in sweat. “I can make it, promise!”

 

“No you can't! You're not able to yet!” Undyne argued, genuinely worried that the kid might burn himself out or fall full force into the gravel path. “C'mon Tan! You need to take a break!”

 

“No!”

 

“That wasn't a suggestion!”

 

“NO!” He yelled louder, his voice straining from the struggle to breathe.

 

“Stubborn brat...” Undyne muttered under her breath, mustering all her power to sprint forward and finally catch up with the squirt. “That's it!”

 

In one quick swoop Undyne barrelled forwards and caught Tan as she fell, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him close so that the rough path would leave too many scrapes or bruises. Just as she was about to catch her breath, Undyne fell something try to wriggle out of her grip.

 

“Stop that!” She barked, practically holding the boy down as he thrashed violently against her. “I know you want to make it to the top but you can't! You're burning yourself out way too fast!”

 

“No! Let me go!” Tan shrieked, trying to claw his way to freedom. “I can do it!”

 

She managed to push herself to her feet, the child still thrashing in her hold. “One day maybe, but now? I'm taking you home kid, you look like you're going to pass out.”

 

“NO! Put me down! I can make it!”

 

“You're going to kill yourself if you keep pushing it like that!”

 

“I don't care! I have to make it to the top!”

 

“You really don't!” Even through the thrashing and the screaming, Undyne managed to start their way back down the path, leading back to the trail head. “Why is it so important to you?”

 

“I have to! I have to! I have to! I have to get out!”

 

Undyne froze in her tracks. Something was not quite right with the boy's words.

 

She breathed in deeply before asking in the calmest voice she could muster. “Out of what?”

 

“Out! Out! I have to get out!” Tan's voice croaked out, the boy now crying profusely. He completely broke down into Undyne's chest, sobbing at the top of his lungs. “I have to get out. I have to Auntie.”

 

Undyne felt an odd sympathy for him. She hadn't a clue what set him off but damn if she didn't find a way to make him happy again. She carefully let him down, making sure that he wouldn't buckle or bolt the moment his feet touched the ground. “Slow down bud. Take a breather. Tell me what you were trying to get out of.”

 

Tan, now standing still, rubbed at his eyes until they were red and sore. His breathing ragged and painful “It's dumb. It's really really dumb.”

 

“If it upsets you it can't be that dumb.”

 

“It is.” He sniffled and explained. “Before I di-” He cut himself off, deciding to use a different word. “Before I fell, the Mountain was out. No one went there. No body checked up there.”

 

He paused, waiting for a reaction from the fish woman. She nodded, telling the boy that it was alright to continue.

 

“Wh-when I had... _bad thoughts_ and needed out, I went to the Mountain.” His voice began to quiver, the dried sweat on his face being replaced with fresh tears. “When I went to the Mountain I was safe. When I went home, I wasn't safe.”

 

The boy's words made everything suddenly very clear to the knight why he was so insistent on going up the Mountain. He wasn't just trying to get away from her, he was trying to get away from everything. Trying to put the greatest distance possible between him and the world. To him, the top of the Mountain was far far safer than whatever was waiting for him at the base. Undyne had known guards who suffered from similar thoughts, some of whom refused basic help because they felt it unworthy of them or refused to halt training because it was the largest taste of freedom they had experienced.

 

“So...” She began, not sure what to say. “The day you fell... it was the highest up the Mountain you've ever gone huh?”

 

“Um-hm.” He nodded, his gaze fixated on the ground.

 

“That's a long way up. You must have been really tired by the end of it.”

 

“I don't care. I hurt before I fell.”

 

She saw him rub his hand over a significant part of his arm where a pattern of scars lay almost hidden if not inspected close enough. A dark thought lingered in her mind whether or not he was hurt by something in the forest or by something far worse.

 

“Wh-when I met Toriel she kissed all my hurt away. She was warm and read to me. I wanted to stay with her forever but I had _bad thoughts_ again and I wanted out. I wanted to climb back up and see the sky. But I...”

 

He stopped, his head titled completely downwards.

 

Undyne put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You don't have to say it if you don't want to.”

 

He gulped and thanked her. “Then I met the others and they were nice, but I couldn't get out. When I came back I ran away from the others so I could get out. Then I met Paps and he felt like how Toriel felt.” He made a small gasp as he tried swallowing tears, his pace quickening. “He knows when things are too loud and he doesn't care what I look like. I don't want him to go away and I'm having _bad thoughts_ about it and it scares me and I'm so rry Auntie _but I really really want out_!”

 

Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts that made a kid climb a Mountain. Bad thoughts that make him run away from the people he loves when he is in need. Tan was a young kid but he was one with a lot of emotions and dark memories. Few kids can say that they cheated death, but even fewer can say that it is the least of their worries.

 

Undyne held the boy's shoulders and said to him firmly. “He's not going anywhere kiddo. He likes you too much to leave you. But I think you really need to tell him about these “bad thoughts” you've been having. Bad thoughts like that can dig into your Soul. If they get in there too deep they start to eat you alive.”

 

“Do you get bad thoughts Auntie?”

 

Nights of screaming and throwing punches at a training dummy flashed across the woman's eyes. Nights of crying because she couldn't stand the thought of bringing her anger with her to work. Nights of lying still in her bed staring at the ceiling because she couldn't will herself to get up and do the things she wanted to do.

 

“Yeah,” Undyne replied simply, not wanting to elaborate for the kid's sake. “I used to get them a lot. I started getting them when I was really young. Sometimes when I had them I hurt others. One day I got scared that I might have a thought so bad that I'd hurt someone I cared the world for. So I went to someone who I knew could help me and the thoughts got weaker. I still have bad thoughts, but I know how to beat them up now. And you should too.”

 

“How?”

 

“I talked to someone who listened and they told me that I was far greater than my bad thoughts said I was.” She smiled at the boy, running a webbed hand through his sweat sodden hair. “And you're totally a hundred times better than what yours say you are.”

 

Tan was quiet, the look on his face now contemplative. “Auntie?”

 

“Yeah kid?”

 

“I think I want go back home now.”

 

Undyne smiled triumphantly. Although it hadn't been a successful hike, at least the kid was finally calm enough to make his way home.

 

“Alright.” Undyne lifted the boy onto her back, his arms secured around her shoulders much like they had been before their hike. “Let's get you home so we can get some sea tea. That'll cool you down in an instant.”

 

“Hey Auntie?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Your feet are bleeding.”

 

Undyne looked down, finally noticing the red stains seeping through her running shoes. “Oh damn.”

 

***

 

Town was rather busy that morning.

 

As they found suitable parking spaces close to where they needed to be, it became clear that everyone had their own ideas about where to go first.

 

“Books!”

 

“Beauty!”

 

“REASONABLY-PRICED ARTS AND CRAFTS!”

 

Toriel rubbed the bridge of her snout and laughed. “Oh dear. It seems we have a little disagreement. Let's try settling it on what can be gotten the easiest.”

 

The group nodded, figuring out a suitable plan that would let them do everything they wanted done and still give them enough time to be home before dinner. Toriel only needed to go to the book store before she and Sans headed off for the groceries so it was decided that they would go there first before splintering off into groups.

 

The large book store sat on the main road flanked by many other stores. The inside had multiple floors sectioned based on function with big wooden display cases at the entrance advertising the latest bestsellers.

 

Toriel had barely walked through the door when the party all ran off in different directions to seek their favourite genres and stories. By the time she was able to assess where they had all run off too, she noticed that only one person was still by her side.

 

“Olive, dear?” She asked the little girl clinging to her skirt. “Don't you want to find any books to bring home?”

 

“Hmm.” The girl was absent mindedly chewing on her sleeve, staring blankly around the book store like it were a strange alien place. She thought about it for a moment before slowly leading Toriel to the brightly coloured kids' section near the back of the store.

 

There was already a small gaggle of children hovering around the shelves, who immediately scattered upon seeing the monster woman walking slowly towards their section. Toriel frowned a bit when the children hurried away from the shelves, not exactly understanding why she seemed so frighting to them.

 

Olive ignored the reactions of the other children, instead focusing on a collection of large print books meant for beginners. She stood somewhat puzzled, as if trying to deduce the covers. She spent a moment or two tracing a finger along the spines, getting gradually more and more frustrated as time went on. Toriel looked on concerned, wondering if the small girl knew how to read just yet. She was only about five or six years old and during her stay with Toriel all those years ago had always gone to her with a book she wanted read to her. Toriel was actually unsure if she had ever seen Olive read any of her children's books by herself before.

 

“It's okay sweetie.” She assured the child, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “If you need a little more time choosing then that''s fine.”

 

Olive nodded at her and wandered off to a different shelf, one where the recommended reading level was slightly higher than what was recommended for a five or six year old. She seemed much happier with the higher level books, recognising some of the titles.

 

Toriel chuckled a little to herself as Olive began pulling out multiple hardbacks from the Classics section, her stack quickly becoming taller than herself. “ _Well a lack of reading ability certainly doesn't seem to be the issue._ ”

 

Sunny joined them a minute or so latter, his hands empty. He had a mixed look of confused boredom on his face, completely ignoring all the books in favour of complaining. “Ma, when can we leave? It's real crowded in here.”

 

“Soon, Sunny. Don't be so impatient.” She chided him, watching him huff indignantly at the thought. “We just need to sort out what books we'd like and then we will go get the groceries.” Seeing the pre-teen get more unsettled she suggested. “Maybe you can help Olive with her books? She may need an extra pair of hands.”

 

Sunny nodded, albeit still impatient.

 

Olive, who was ecstatic at this development, started talking a mile a minute. “Which one is your favourite? I like the one with the girl and the weird things and the animals and-”

 

“Yeah.” Sunny nodded, looking to the side a bit. “Those kinds are good.”

 

“I only saw parts in the paper and I want to find them all.” She continued unfazed by his apparent disinterest. “I can't read some of the titles though...” She looked sadly at the cover of one book, holding it in front of her for the older child to see. “I think this is the one I want, but I don't know. What's the name?”

 

Sunny stared at the book like it was in a different language. A bright cover and large black letters spelling the name of the book was all he could process. “T-the Won-der fill... Wi-iz... erd...” He stopped, his head hidden in shame as he failed to recognise the last word. “I... I don't know the last one, sorry.”

 

Something clicked in Toriel's head.

 

“Dear,” She began in her calming tone. “Have you read many books?”

 

“Nope.” Was the blunt answer. “Too expensive.”

 

“Hmm.” Toriel hummed, starting to understand the situation. “Well... I think Olive here might want a reading buddy to help her out.” She turned to the little girl and asked subtly. “Dear, would it be okay when you're reading; to help Sunny follow you? Some of these books, even the Classics, are very much new to him. Is there any you want to share with him?”

 

Olive's eyes lit up and she matter-of-factly climbed the shelf to retrieve a book she had recognised by cover alone. “This one! This one! This one!”

 

“Get down from there you'll break your neck!” Sunny scolded, picking her off the high shelf. He barely had a moment to put her down when she continued to ramble, shoving the paperback in his face.

 

“This one! It's about a boy, and a river, and pirates, and...”

 

Toriel had to laugh as Olive dragged Sunny away by his sleeve to another shelf, the taller child looking like a deer in headlights. She decided to stay in the Classics sections a little longer, trying to find the elusive “Verne” that Jade was so interested in.

 

Before they had realised it, a good half hour had past and each member of the party had amassed their own collections. Toriel had found her own little library, an even mix of science and fiction that would last her months. Papyrus held up a stack of brightly illustrated books, his face beaming with the excitement of sharing them with the children. Mettaton and Nerissa had one each, a sappy Edwardian era novella and a very thick French drama respectively. Sunny stood confused, struggling with the tall stack Olive kept adding to every few minutes. Chara held a single book in their hands, a Physics book that seemed more appropriate for Gaster than a child – though Toriel paid it little mind as the child had become quite close to the elderly scientist as of recent.

 

After paying for their books (and retrieving Sans from his resting place in a reading chair), the group discussed their plans for the rest of the day. Although Sans and Toriel needed to head away early for the groceries and the PTA meeting – the others had made the decision to spend the rest of the day out and about town.

 

“I'm going to take myself and the others to a salon.” Mettaton announced, giving a dreamy yawn in emphasis. “There's a wonderful one nearby, it's monster and human owned. Maybe a nice massage will work the static out of my joints.”

 

“SOUNDS WONDERFUL!” Papyrus agreed excitedly to the idea. “IS IT ONE OF THOSE PLACES WHERE THEY PUT CUCUMBERS ON YOUR EYES?”

 

“Why would you put fruit on your eyes?” Nerissa piped up, looking baffled at the thought.

 

“Would that not hurt?” Momoko asked in similar confusion.

 

“Oh dear...” Mettaton giggled quietly. Looks like he needed to give Undyne's and Alphys' little ones a crash course on beauty treatment. “It seems I have my work cut out for me.”

 

“I hope five have a wonderful time. We'll bring all the books and whatnot home so you won't be weighed down.” Toriel said, preparing her van for their departure – Sunny and Chara already arguing over the front seat as Sans fell asleep in the back. She had a little nugget of thought that suggested that one of these days she should join Mettaton on one of his many beauty excursions and give herself a well deserved pampering – but she shelved the thought away for now. “Is there anything in particular you need from the shops?”

 

“I WOULD MOST GRACIOUSLY ENJOY MORE DRIED PASTA AND TOMATO SAUCE. MY RESERVES ARE GOING DOWN FASTER THAN I CAN COOK!” Papyrus asked, Olive bouncing excitedly next to him whilst chanting. “Tomates! Tomates!”

 

“Ovaltine and strawberries – if they're still in season.” Nerissa said, and upon seeing the expectant look in Toriel's eyes added. “Please.”

 

Momoko stood deep in thought, absently holding onto the arm of Nerissa's wheelchair, until deciding. “...Curry.”

 

“Curry?” Toriel wondered aloud. She had certainly expected the small boy to ask for sweets or fruits like others his age, but curry? “Is it a dish you want one of these days? Or do you want the sauce itself?”

 

The boy thought a few seconds more before deciding. “Yes please.”

 

“Okay dear.” Toriel gave a short laugh, no use arguing with that request. She then addressed the rest of the children before getting into her van. “You all be good for Mr Mettaton and Papyrus now. Make sure to have them call me if anything happens okay?”

 

Nerissa, Momoko, and Olive all nodded, barely giving the instructions a second though before they clasped Mettaton and Papyrus by the hands and zoomed down the street – their chaperones yelling dramatically as they were dragged to whatever had caught the children's attentions.

 

Toriel sighed.

 

It was so nice to see her children having fun again.

 

***

 

The supermarket recommended by the other teachers at the school was a fair distance away from the Old Town centre, leading into the more gentrified northern part of town where the houses and front lawns became larger and the shops became restaurants and cafes. Money had bled out from the nearby Fox City and settled as three story suburbs and car dealerships, the home of many middle-to-upper class families that worked in the city and sent their kids to Ebott for school.

 

“Mama.” Sunny spoke up from his place in the front seat (a victory he gained over Chara) as they pasted one of the many neighbourhoods in the districts. “What do you suppose people grow out here?”

 

“I don't think they grow much dear.” Toriel answered, not exactly understanding the boy's question. “Though I have seen lovely gardens outside some of the houses.”

 

“They've got a lot of bare land though.” Sunny remarked as they past a particularly opulent home where the entire front lawn was bare save for a few emaciated myrtle trees. Sunny hummed in thought for a few minutes before deciding. “Must be the fallow year.”

 

“They're called lawns.” Chara corrected, lightly kicking the back of Sunny's seat. “It has something to do with owning a lot of land or something. Dad says wealthy humans don't really do gardens anymore and that's why a lot are bare.”

 

“That's foolish.” Sunny huffed crossly. “If I owned my own land I'd put it to work. Or at the very least let the nature take over instead of shaving it near bald.”

 

“don't think people would appreciate attracting the local wildlife bucko.” Sans suddenly commented, slowly rousing from his nap. He himself was a little confused on the habits of the modern human – what monster wasn't? But he was able to conclude that (for most humans) more equalled better, whether that be homes, gold, or in this case; manicured grass. “don't worry, 'Gore and Asriel are gonna put the yard back home to good use. make all the homemakers jealous.”

 

“Like yourself?”

 

“nah. never the gardening type myself.”

 

“How come?”

 

“my celery wasn't high enough.”

 

“Mister Sans you are a rigmarole.”

 

“don't you mean rigma _rose?_ ”

 

The kids groaned at the his response, deciding not to ask anymore questions for the rest of the trip less they indirectly gave him more material to work on.

 

The supermarket seemed to be quite busy that time of day. Even after finding a parking space in the sea of cars, it took some considerable care not to bump into anyone going in and out of the lot.

 

The inside was less frantic than expected, likely because most of the outside traffic seemed to be people going in for very minor items or just needing to leave their vehicles somewhere so they could peruse the surrounding retail stores.

 

Toriel didn't fail to notice the odd stares she and her family attracted. Most of the patrons seemed to be human and the few that were monsters seemed to recognise her – most likely from either her recent work at the elementary school or as their Queen. Toriel tempered down the twinge of nerves she felt when Sans arrived at her side, pushing a shopping cart almost as tall as he was.

 

They quickly made their way through the aisles, though it quickly became obvious that Chara was annoyed by something.

 

“Moooom!” They whined, hand tugging at Toriel's skirt. “Can I go look for my chocolate? I didn't get to check any of the sweet shops in town and I neeeed it!”

 

She sighed, knowing that her child would not let the matter slide so easily. “Alright sweetie. Take Sunny with you though. I don't want you climbing the shelves to reach it.”

 

“I do what now?” Sunny asked indignantly, finally snapping out of his daze of gawking at the sheer size of the market.

 

“Yes!” Chara said triumphantly, grabbing the older child by the wrist and all but dragging him to a completely different area of the store, Sunny complaining about the arrangement all the way.

 

“heh.” was the quiet chuckle Sans made, looking on as the two wandered around the corner of the baking goods aisle. “they seem to be really getting along.”

 

“Truly?” Toriel asked, an uncertain tone in her voice. “I swear I've seen them argue more than bond.”

 

“you don't have siblings do you Tori?”

 

“Sadly I don't. I was an only child.” She looked away wistfully for a moment before continuing. “Though I can see some of what you're implying. I guess I'm so used to Chara and Asriel being thick as thieves that I struggle to see what brings the rest of them together. At the very least they seem comfortable around each other.”

 

“yeah. that's the least you can hope for.” He trailed off a bit as they continued to browse the aisle, albeit slower so that the children could find them again once they were finished with their quest for chocolate.

 

Thoughts of the meeting later in the day crept back to him, briefly wondering exactly what did people talk about at those things. Even in the last few years of Papyrus' education Sans had often neglected to attend such weekly meetings, skipping them in favour of work or rest. From the gist of what he had attended though; it seemed to mostly be time for the school and parents to sort out schedules and future fundraising events. Shouldn't be so hard.

 

A louder, triumphant cry rang in the aisle about two rows away, confirming that the children had found their quarry.

 

Sans and Toriel both laughed as they heard the distinctive voice of Chara, instructing Sunny to “Lift me up so I can get all of them!” followed by the older child's protests of “And break your neck? Not likely!”

 

Through the children's amused arguments and their guardians' slow path to the sacred aisle, Sans swore he heard a voice he recognised speak out from the usual ambient noise.

 

“Ugh. Such bad manners.”

 

“I know! I'd hate to see how their parents act.” Agreed an unfamiliar voice, the tone a bit more haughty.

 

Sans turned and gazed upon a sight he wished he hadn't seen.

 

“ _Mrs Measles?_ ”

 

“Oh!” Toriel exclaimed, pretending she didn't hear the mean comment. “Mrs Evans and Mrs Bouquet. I hadn't expected to see you two before the meeting.”

 

“You mean the PTA meeting?” After getting a nod, Mrs Evans' demeanour immediately changed too something a little more cheery. “Of course! We attend every week. I'm actually the head organiser of the PTA so I can't miss a meeting!”

 

Sans felt a strange pit in his stomach but was unsure of why it was there. Perhaps it was his previous encounter with the woman that caused it, but something else was there that he couldn't place.

 

Mrs Evans gaze flickered to the short skeleton, a look of distaste in her eyes as she continued to chat with the monster woman. “And I see your... friend is out helping you shop?”

 

“Oh yes!” Toriel confirmed, placing a light hand on Sans' shoulder. “Sans has been such good help recently. Of course when you have as many children as we do, we need all the help we can get.”

 

“w _e?_ ” Sans felt his cheeks flare at the phrase. She could have said “ _I_ ” or “ _my family_ ” but she settled on “ _we_ ”, like she was making some sort of subtle confirmation that Sans was indeed part of her family. He quickly brushed it off however, not wanting to spend the day dissecting a single word.

 

Instead Sans raised a bony hand to the women, greeting them both. “hi. I'm Sans the skeleton. I think we've met before Mrs Evans. sorry if I came off as a bit abrasive when we last met. guess I was a sponge for stress that day.”

 

“Oh?” Mrs Evans raised a brow in surprise, taking the skeleton's bony handshake tentatively, somehow expecting it to feel like a plastic prop. “I believe we did meet. At the pharmacy near the mall.” She recalled although she didn't relay the events of the day.

 

“haven't met much of the other teachers yet. both your kids go to the school?”

 

“Yes.” Was the curt answer.

 

“that's cool. all nine of ours is as well. eldest is only in fifth now that I think about it, so no rowdy teens yet.” he rambled, hoping that the mindless chatter would eat up enough time to have the kids barrel through and save him from the awkward meeting.

 

“I'm the teacher for fifth actually.” the other dark-haired woman, Mrs Bouquet, announced proudly, adjusting her basket. “I pride myself on knowing my students, and I don't think I have a _skeleton_ in my class.”

 

“Oh no, no.” Toriel interjected, giggling a little. “Most of our children are human. Sunny, the eldest boy, is one as well.”

 

“You're... **his** parents?” Mrs Bouquet asked with a tone somewhere between pity and criticism. “I suppose I could see why he acts the way he does.”

 

Sans immediately felt as though the woman's words were so innocuous and prodded carefully. “in what way? I mean, is he unsettled or bored in class or something? cuz, I've had to help my little brother with that before and-”

 

“No, no, no, no... no” the woman interrupted, using her hand to metaphorically brush away the issue. “It's nothing. I have a lot of students and Sunny is certainly... a character. But I will suggest one thing.”

 

“lay it on me.”

 

“Maybe he would be more comfortable in a less... difficult class. Just a small suggestion.”

 

“I don't think that would be a problem Mrs Bouquet.” Toriel dismissed. She knew of her son's difficulties adjusting to the new world but he was still very much as curious and observant as any other child. “Sunny is bright young man and he can talk your ear off at the best of times. I don't think he'll have any trouble keeping up with the right support.”

 

Mrs Bouquet hummed but it was clear that her thoughts on the matter were unchanged.

 

“Mom! Sans!” called the small voice in the next aisle, it's source quickly barrelling to where it could see them around the corners. “We found it! We found it!”

 

It was almost comical. Chara standing there with a wild look in their eyes, every reachable space of their arms stuffed with bars beyond bars of chocolate. The distinct black and white wrappers proclaimed itself to the world as the beloved “Cocoa-Mountain” brand founded in the very town many many years beforehand.

 

“heh. told you we'd find it.” Sans admired the kid's haul, careful to put it on top of the shopping cart so none of it would get smushed – not that Chara would mind smushed chocolate mind you. “where's Sunny?”

 

“He has the rest.”

 

Sunny appeared around the corner moments later, staggering under the weight of his haul as Chara had insisted on getting every single flavour of the brand. He unceremoniously dumped the bars into the cart, huffing tiredly from being used as a pack mule. His eyes gained a startled glint as he recognised the face of his teacher in front of him.

 

Chara recognised Mrs Evans, but choose to smile sweetly at the woman as they greeted. “Hi Mrs Evans~! Is Mrs Colt back yet?”

 

Mrs Evans in turn made a strange face at the sight of the Dreemurr children and answered awkwardly. “No. She's on maternity leave for the foreseeable future. I hope you and... Frisk was it? Behave yourselves on Monday.” She then turned to Toriel one last time before she and Mrs Bouquet moved on with their shopping. “See you at the meeting Mrs Dreemurr.”

 

“And you two as well!” Toriel said her goodbyes warmly, although she felt the encounter to be rather odd and the ladies behaviours peculiar. “I'll be sure to bring something to share with the group.”

 

As the two ladies waved back, the small group slowly went back to browsing the shelves.

 

At some point during the rest of the trip, Chara leaned into Sans and whispered. “Those two make my skin crawl.”

 

Sans nodded in agreement. “ditto. well, almost.” He jokingly pulled on his wrist bone, gaining another annoyed groan from the child.

 

***

 

After a good amount of time (and money) spent at the supermarket, the four quickly made their way home, the clock just about to reach noon. The streets of Old Town were filled with kids playing sports and the meadows surrounding their older suburb had even more carving out their own mess of game somewhere between tag and fencing.

 

When they lugged everything inside, the first thing Sans noticed was Undyne and Tan in the front room, soaking their feet in a large metal basin.

 

“whoa. what happened sport?” he asked the boy, wondering how he gained so many new scratches on his knees.

 

Tan's face lit up as he explained through his superhero themed band-aids. “Me and Auntie were hiking and I went too fast and I fell and I cried and Auntie calmed me down and Auntie walked me home but Auntie's feet were bleeding and now me and Auntie are soaking are feet like old men in a sauna.”

 

Sans looked toward Undyne for confirmation, barely catching half of what the boy said.

 

Undyne nodded exhaustedly from the armchair, a box of sea tea in her hand. “We went a little too hard for a first time.”

 

“ahh.” Sans said in understanding. He was about to ask something else went he felt something in his pocket.

 

His phone.

 

Opening it, he noticed that he had an unread email and opened it.

 

Upon reading it he rushed to the kitchen where Toriel and Sunny were beginning to put away the groceries, looking out fondly at the garden where Asgore and Asriel played catch.

 

“Tori. what time is the meeting again?”

 

“It starts at One if the school's email is correct.” she answered absent-mindedly, distracted by the sounds of play outside.

 

“well, I just got a new email from the school saying they bumped up the time.”

 

Toriel finally tore attention away from the window and took out her own phone, noticing her own unread email. It was apparently received about an hour ago but she hadn't noticed due to keeping her phone on silent while she was out and about.

 

“ _Dear Parents and Faculty_

_The starting times for the Parent Teachers Association meetings have been changed from one o'clock in the afternoon to Twelve o'clock noon._

_We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the sudden change._ ”

 

Toriel reread the email once more before looking up at the clock.

 

Seven minutes to noon.

 

“We're late!” She and Sans said simultaneously, accidentally leaving the others to put away the groceries as they rushed for the door and into the car and down the street.

 

“I wonder what they're so worried about.” said Undyne, deciding to turn on the tv so she and Tan could watch a cheesy action movie.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah! PTA cliffhanger. A lot of kid-centric stuff happens here – so much that I split the day in two. Warning for mental health stuff mentioned in this chapter. Hopefully I will update much quicker than last time and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a comment or review and have a nice day! :D


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